


The Practicalities of Surrender

by cairn



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Falling In Love, Nohr | Conquest Route, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-02 22:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8685925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cairn/pseuds/cairn
Summary: Hoshido has fallen, and Sakura is the only one of her siblings left alive. As the Hoshidan throne is left temporarily empty, Nohr wastes no time in filling it - with a Nohrian prince. 
"So. Tell me, Sakura, former princess of Hoshido. You are to rule a throne of a belligerent, rebellious territory that your country has just captured. One of the former throne's family still remains alive, ready for any rebellion to claim as the rightful ruler. What do you do?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Brief orientation: This is a slightly AU Conquest world - no Valla, no Anankos. Hoshido and Nohr are still at odds, but only over resources and a past history of distrust. Iago is sent with (male) Corrin and King Garon to take Hoshido. They succeed and Garon leaves Iago in charge. Sakura is the only of her siblings left alive. 
> 
> This is loosely inspired by _The Nightingale_ by Kristin Hannah, but it really has nothing to do with the novel at all… I've found that it's spiraled far, far away from my original conception of the plot.

She remembered fighting at Fort Jinya in in her dreams.

The inhuman screams of wounded pegasi. The scent of blood and explosives. The dark-suited soldiers, surging over grass like swarms of insects over a flower ripe for picking. The shock of chains, and the lacerating pain of metal chafing. The weeping. The piercing horror of watching men die while her rod hung limp in some Nohrian soldier's hands. The black-haired man (monster, she thought) who had cackled at her, had slapped her face, had threatened her with death. The shuffling march to Shirasagi Castle, each step a call to double over on the trail and perish, to become soil for the very trees she was named after. 

Sakura groaned wordlessly. Everything hurt. Her chest felt stifled - breathing was difficult. Her stomach was roiling, her head throbbing, her ears ringing, and her throat raw and blistered with the effort of heaving up everything she had been given to eat in the past - how long had it been, now?

Weeks, perhaps. Sakura forced her arm underneath herself on the tiny bed in an attempt to sit up, but was quickly pushed down gently by freezing cold hands. Or was she just burning up? The unknown person rearranged her arms and pulled her on her side. Her mind, despite the piercing pain, reminded her that this was a recovery position, meant to prevent patients from choking on their own vomit. 

But who was her nurse? When she tried to look in their direction, the image she received in return was dark and blurry. A face was perhaps there, but her eyes fell quickly shut. 

Sakura felt that her eyes were falling shut faster and faster these days. Her mind fell in and out of dream worlds where people were dying, or women were screaming. People she knew were dead walked past her, spoke to her, appeared to her. She had watched as the black-haired man slit her sister's throat, even though she knew that that had not happened, that her sister had died because of an errant archer's lucky shot. She had sobbed into the little bed's ratty sheets after a vivid dream of Takumi wandering in the woods, wounded, and again after she had imagined and re-imagined all the ways Ryoma could have perished (had it been ritual suicide, as Hana had said? Or was she just concealing the truth from her?). The ceiling of the basement she lay beneath was rarely seen; instead, the flickering shadows of past battles, past memories, intruded upon her every hour.

And yet she was alive. The heat and pain told her so. 

And yet what purpose did she have living? Sakura felt tears retrace their familiar forked lines down her cheeks. Her nameless nurse said something to her, but the words were indistinguishable from the roaring in her ears. A hand, so cold against her skin, tried clumsily to wipe the water from her face. 

And what purpose was left for her, here, when every morning came with the knowledge that that black-haired monster, less man than beast, had been placed on her family's throne? When every night came with the fear that he would send men in come in and kill them all without discerning between them, without warning, though she had begged and wept and signed pledges and given her word over and over to say she would never claim the throne?

What purpose was left for her, here, in a world where her people were no longer Hoshidan? 

****

* * *

"You wanted to see me?" Leo stepped through the door to see his brother look up from his desk, the lines in his face relaxing only barely as he did so.

"Ah. Leo. Good. Please, sit down." Xander gestured to the seat on the other side of his desk. 

Leo eyed the chair and then cast an appraising glance around the room as he moved towards it. Laslow, slightly behind his brother, was holding an array of papers, scanning them, eyebrows raising and mouth grimacing at what appeared to be every other sentence. A fire sparked and cracked in the fireplace to the side of the room. Xander had a sheaf of documents spread out before him, and Siegfreid was leaning against the edge of the table Xander sat before.

"What was it you wished to discuss, brother?" Leo sat in the chair, easing into the leather that gave slightly below him. 

"You know I just returned from Hoshido again." Xander's expression was dark, but Leo knew this was not atypical; his brother had barely smiled since the campaign he had led to crush Iago. 

"Yes." Leo nodded slowly. "And I assume all is not going well?"

Xander shut his eyes. "Gods. It's worse than the first time."

Leo's eyebrows raised. "Is that possible?"

Xander grunted. "Apparently so."

"What is happening?" Leo's eyes went to the papers in front of Xander. Xander looked to them as well, mouth set in a hard line.

"To be blunt, it's chaos." Xander rubbed a gloved hand down his face. "When I went there to check on Father's interests in Hoshido, Iago had… essentially made himself a glorified tyrant."

"The reports stated that Father had let him crown himself ruler," Leo stated, more to remind Xander that he had read the reports than anything else. 

"Well, he went far beyond Father's orders." Xander scowled. "Hundreds of Hoshidan soldiers, chained in the prisons there. And he had so many more murdered in cold blood. It was practically genocide."

"The records state that many of the deaths occurred by way of suicide," Laslow said suddenly from the other side of the room. "Ritual or otherwise."

"The samurai code," Xander said, waving a hand as though the gesture could encompass the nebulous concept. "Hundreds of soldiers - dead."

Leo folded his arms. "I fail to see the problem. Dead soldiers are soldiers who can't fight back against the Nohrian ruler."

"That is the problem." Xander looked as though he had bitten something acutely sour. "There is no Nohrian ruler after Father had me execute Iago. One of Iago's men stepped up temporarily, but I put him in place as a temporary solution."

Leo understood. "Father is afraid the Hoshidan resistance will step up again without someone firmly in power."

"What's worse, they still haven't dealt with the girl." Xander folded his arms as well.

"The girl?" Leo said slowly. "You mean… the former princess."

"Yes." Xander's expression darkened further. He looked to the side as though to prompt Laslow into speaking, but the retainer didn't appear to notice.

"Hm." Leo frowned. "And you wish to consult me about what to do next?"

"Well… Actually." Xander paused. Leo noted that Laslow was still firmly buried in his notes. "I consulted Father about this."

Leo felt a sudden stir of dread. The fire cracked loudly to his left. "Oh?"

"Yes." Xander paused again, and Leo forced back a resentful smile. Xander always paused before making uncomfortable requests. "I also spoke with Camilla. Last night. You may remember."

"I do." Leo had been at dinner with the two of them when Xander requested her presence in his office after the meal.

Xander took a breath and then spoke deliberately slowly, as though to fully restrain his urge to speak in a rush. "Father wants someone to take Iago's place now that I've formally deposed him.".

Though it was a surprise, Leo found himself rather unsurprised. "And you want me to do it."

Xander paused again, and then slowly nodded. "Yes."

"It's not a choice." 

"No." Xander met his gaze, still composed, only the furrow in his brow giving away the fact that he knew his brother was unwilling to go.

Leo looked away first. "I see."

"It's not a bad position." Xander's voice pulled Leo's attention back to the table. "Believe me, brother, I ask this of you only because I believe you are best-suited for it."

"And your consultation with Camilla?" Leo couldn't prevent the sharpness of frustration from entering his tone.

"Mostly circumstance." Xander grimaced slightly. "As the next in line to a throne after me, it was only right to offer the position to her."

"She refused," Leo said, a statement instead of a question. Camilla had never professed any real inclination to ruling. The battlefield was her preferred modem of power.

Xander inclined his head. "Yes." 

"And Corrin? He is technically Hoshidan." Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. Corrin had been given all the other choice assignments recently. Surely Father would have tried to dump this one on him as well. 

"Father… does not want him to have it." Xander shifted in his seat. "Corrin was too soft-hearted on the battlefield for Father's liking, it seems."

Leo thought back to Corrin's angry exit from the throne room while he had been waiting for an audience with Father, back to the traces he had caught of the loud argument that had rung out between their father and Corrin just beforehand. Leo had heard accusations of cowardice from their father's side, and what had sounded like counterarguments and equally strong accusations on Corrin's side.

"I heard much the same," Leo said. He stopped momentarily and raised an eyebrow at his elder brother. "And you're not taking the position either." 

Xander's mouth thinned. "Father wants me here."

Leo looked at Siegfried, lying against the table, temporarily discarded. "I see." 

"He wants me to learn from him." Xander looked at the papers again. "And he expects you to learn from this position as well."

"And what position is this, exactly?" Leo folded his arms. Was this a second throne in truth? Or merely a holding of the Nohrian empire?

"You will be the effective ruler of Hoshido." Xander gathered up the papers on his desk, folding them in a pile as he did so. "Essentially, you have full reign of the region. As long as you are able to send enough resources here and report back, you can do what you like."

"And I report to whom?" Leo eyed the papers. So this was a position with some power, then. Little wonder Camilla hadn't wanted it; she had never been the strategist, and had always been more prone to destroy than cultivate.

"Me." Xander met his gaze once again, and then offered the stack of papers he had collected. "Take these with you. It's all the information we gathered when we went, plus some of Iago's own papers. You may have more luck than we have had with it."

"My thanks." Leo took them, already scanning the top of the first sheet. It was written in the impersonal style of military reports - all third-person and passive voice. He dropped the page for a second. "Brother, besides this, what were your personal impressions?

"Personal impressions?" Xander paused, apparently surprised. He looked to the side for a second. "Iago was in some way right - he has kept part of the army and it was wise to keep the advisor to the former queen alive."

"He did?" Leo's eyebrows raised.

"Yes, milord." Laslow, suddenly an active participant again after the difficult conversation was mostly over, raised a sheet he held. "Yukimura… A mechanist."

"He did not treat him well, though," Xander added. "And more worrying still is the people's reaction to the slaughter of those soldiers. And the suicides… It's like a public martyring."

"Of course." Leo nodded slowly. "The people of Hoshido will remember those deaths."

Xander grimaced. "It is not easy to break the people's spirit, as Father wishes. We both agreed Iago was abusing his power - stealing from their coffers and the like. His violence was producing the opposite ends that we wanted."

Leo snorted. "Gods alone know how he ever got his position." The brothers stared at each other for a second, each fully aware that Iago had gotten his position because he had kowtowed to their father. 

Now it was Xander's turn to first look away. "Back to the matter at hand."

"Of course." Leo's mouth curled into what was almost a grimace. 

"Besides supplying Nohr with sufficient resources, there's another matter. Father needs you to determine whether the princess should be considered a threat or not." He paused meaningfully. "And if she is…"

"I understand," Leo responded, mind already running through what he knew of her. The princess, youngest of four. A healer. Captured after the battle at Fort Jinya - Corrin had reported her alive, though she had been fighting there. "Where did Iago put her? One of the prisons?"

"No." Xander frowned. "Actually, the only reason she didn't initially die was because Corrin pleaded on her behalf."

"And where is she?" Leo prodded.

"In one of the shrines, milord," Laslow said promptly. "Or, rather, below it."

"Close to the castle so he could keep an eye on her," Xander added.

"But otherwise no forms of control imposed?" Leo frowned. This was exceedingly unlike Iago.

"Not really, milord." Laslow frowned as well, suddenly folding the papers he had been holding and crossing his arms. "But she was very ill after her capture."

"Is it truth?" Leo turned to his brother. 

Xander shifted in his seat; though his face was impassive, Leo could still tell he was uncomfortable. "She was apparently ill."

"You saw her?" Leo frowned. 

"Of a sort." Xander's mouth thinned further. "I was not allowed in the room."

"I went instead, milord," Laslow said. Leo turned to face him. Laslow smiled, all teeth, and all false - Leo knew a fake smile when he saw one. "They were saying she was ill, and Lord Xander couldn't afford to catch what she has."

"And she was truly sick?" Leo's eyes narrowed.

Laslow grinned uncomfortably again. "Yes. Living quarters weren't particularly pleasant, either."

Leo nodded slowly. As he would have expected. "So. Ill enough that she might have perished and Iago could have called it an accident?"

Xander's expression darkened further. "That was our conclusion, yes."

"I see." Leo nodded. A pause stretched out between them. Xander looked increasingly discomforted as Leo sat, deep in thought. Leo suddenly straightened. "If that is all, I must prepare to depart, then, brother."

"Leo." Xander stopped him as he moved to get up. "One more thing."

Leo sat down again, waiting. Xander looked at the wooden desk in front of him. If Xander had been a less composed man, Leo knew he would have fidgeted with something - perhaps the gloves he was wearing, or the inkpot to his right.

"There is one more reason that we thought you might be a good fit for the position." His brother looked up at Leo and then away briefly. "Camilla mentioned it, actually. The girl… she was princess of Hoshido once. She holds great sway with her people. And if the house of Nohr could marry into the house of Hoshido, Nohrian rule in Hoshido might meet less resistance."

"You want me to marry her." Leo's voice was flat.

"No, not necessarily," Xander said quickly. "It is a thought. For you to act upon if you wish." 

"I see. Thank you, brother." Leo stood up mechanically. 

"No. Leo -" Xander stood up as well, eyes hesitant. "Thank you."

"It is nothing," Leo said shortly as he strode to the door. He paused at the doorway, looked back at his brother. Xander's eyes met his. "Anything for Nohr."


	2. Chapter 2

"She's not seeing you." Hana's voice, sharp. "I don't care who you are."

Sakura sat up slowly in the dark room. Sweat ringed her forehead and made the cold room even colder. "What is it?" Her voice alone made her flinch - she rasped instead of spoke, and the harshness of it was shocking.

"Oh, gods." A pause, and then, louder. "Go back to sleep, Lady Sakura. Please." A pause, and then, hissing, lowly so that Sakura had to focus to make out the words. "You can't see her now. You'll only worsen her condition."

Sakura blinked blearily in the direction of Hana's voice. The room was almost pitch-black - the only light in the room arced out from the half-open doorway that Hana's small figure was blocking. Though she could not see the person on the other side of the door, Hana's back was stiff with anger. Fear, that familiar snake, uncoiled itself in her gut. 

A man's voice, cold and uncompromising, the accent just different enough for Sakura to mark it as Nohrian. "Stand aside." The snake uncoiled itself further, and Sakura's breath quickened.

"Have you Nohrians not done enough?" Hana could never control her temper, Sakura thought, even through her rising pulse. Hana always got angry with their captors and guards. She knew Hana had been beaten for it - had seen the wounds, though of course her retainer always tried to mask them. 

"Hana," Sakura tried, though her hands began to shake and her stomach roil, "Hana, let them in. I am awake."

"It's not good for you, milady," Hana said quickly, and Sakura saw her fearful expression cast into sharp relief by the half-light as she turned to see her. 

"Let me, milord." A different voice, this one deeper, and all of the sudden a man shoved Hana backwards. Sakura gasped, though this went mostly unnoticed. Hana stumbled only a foot backwards, but all of the sudden three men were in the room, one of them carrying a torch that threw shadows dizzily around the room, making it almost equally as hard to see the men clearly as the darkness would have made it. The snake began to twist itself around her stomach, climb into her esophagus, coat her tongue with poisonous fear.

"Nohrian scum!" Hana pulled herself to her full height, and Sakura could see the scene playing out before it happened (her small retainer, dwarfed by her own sense of justice, throwing herself at men who would beat her senseless, and Sakura, having to sit and sob as it occurred).

"Stop!" Sakura said, louder than she had thought possible with only half a voice available to her. Hana jumped, and the three men turned their attention back to her. "S-Stop," she added, quieter this time.

"Let me handle this, milord," one of the men at the sides said, turning back slowly to face Hana. "No one has the right to speak to you like that… Especially not a samurai shameful enough to live while her mistress is dying in a hovel underground."

Hana sucked in a breath, audibly. Her features contorted into pure fury. Sakura fought the fear that was still rising through her. Not Hana. Please, gods above, if you live, if you hear me - not Hana. I will die without Hana. I would take her place. Please send her patience.

"I -" Whatever Hana was attempting to say was cut off as a hand descended on her mouth. Sakura jumped and then relaxed. Gods above, thank you, she thought. Subaki.

"What is going on here?" Subaki's poise was relaxed, even though his arms were tense as he held Hana in place, both a protection and a restraint. "I thought the Nohrian soldiers had agreed that two soldiers were sufficient to guard Lady Sakura until she had recovered from her illness. Prince Xander -" and Sakura knew the formal title cost Subaki something, as his mouth curled unpleasantly around the words - "made a formal promise to the shrine maidens and ourselves."

"I am not my brother." The man in the center of the three spoke this time, and Sakura recognized him as the one whose voice she had heard first. A second passed before the words' import settled themselves on Sakura's mind. His brother.

"You have the honor," the man who had been headed towards Hana said darkly, and with the distinct feeling that he was enjoying the words and the way Subaki and Hana were both tensing as he spoke, "of speaking to Prince Leo."

"I see." Subaki's words were colorless, but his arms were now all the more securely tight around Hana, whose face was purpling with forcibly repressed rage. 

There was a pause. Sakura's hands were shaking fully now, and she felt as though she was going to throw up. While this was not an altogether unfamiliar feeling by now, this felt different, in a way. Nausea sparked by fear was a different grade of nausea altogether. A prince of Nohr - one who walked into her chamber unafraid of her illness. Whatever illness she had contracted had frightened the other off altogether - Hana and Subaki had likely exaggerated her condition, because Nohrians were so averse to sickness - but this one stood in her chamber, hair golden and arms crossed, his back ramrod straight.

"You are Sakura of Hoshido, formerly Princess of Hoshido, fifth-born of the Hoshidan royal family, the current heir to the now-defunct Hoshidan throne?" His words were cold and passionless, as though he was reading them from a book in front of him.

"Y-Yes." Sakura felt a rush of fear and horror. The words were so nostalgic, in a way. Gods alone knew how long she had been in this room, ill and thrashing in the single bed, but those words spoke of endless, manicured gardens, of embroidered robes and lacquered boxes, of handpicked tea leaves and golden accessories. Of her healing staff, and of her siblings. "I-I am."

"You're the last of your family line." The words were blunt, spoken with the same lack of emotion as the previous. "Iago's notes state that you formally acknowledged your abdication of the throne."

"Y-Yes." Sakura could hear the thrum of blood in her ears, was almost surprised she could still hear the man speaking as well as she could. He would have her killed, wouldn't he? As the black-haired man (he was easier to think of as such; 'Iago' brought thoughts of strained expressions on her soldiers, of dying screams and mocking laughter) had threatened to do, over and over. But this was a prince of Nohr - if Iago had waited, surely the prince would not.

"He left you alive." 

"Clearly so," Subaki interrupted, restrained anger obvious in his tone. "I fail to see the point of waking Lady Sakura for an interrogation that has already occurred."

"I advise that you shut up before I cut your tongue from your mouth," the man beside Prince Leo purred (retainer, Sakura thought suddenly - there were two of them, after all, both flanking the prince in a practiced manner). One of his eyes was considerably darker than the other; Sakura suddenly realized through the darkness that it was an eye patch.

"I have already discussed these proceedings with the former advisor to the throne," Leo said bluntly. "I merely wish to confirm them with her. Consider it politeness on behalf of the fallen empire."

This time both of her retainers made growling noises from behind tightly clamped teeth; Hana because Subaki (even now) was firmly covering her mouth, and Subaki because of what looked like sheer force of will. 

Despite her situation, Sakura felt horrible self-revulsion wash upon her like a wave of dirty water - her retainers were suffering for her, far more than she ever had for them. "P-Prince L-Leo."

"Yes?" If the man was surprised, only the barest change of his expression showed it, and even that might have been a flicker of the shadows his retainer's torch were casting,

"I-If yo-you're here to k-kill me," Sakura said, feeling her shoulders shake involuntarily as she said the words, "P-Please d-don't… d-don't draw th-this out."

"Lady Sakura!" The first thing that registered was that Subaki must have loosened his grip on Hana because there were two voices saying those familiar words. The second was the sudden rictus grin that spread out across the face of the Nohrian retainer that had spoken earlier. The third was that Prince Leo was walking towards her, just a few steps forward.

"Hm." The prince surveyed her; despite the fact that he was now only silhouetted by the torch, and she could not see his face clearly any longer, she could feel the prick of his gaze on her. Sakura felt the snake of fear twist itself all the tighter around her insides. 

He smiled - or, at least, Sakura thought he did. It was hard to tell. "So. Tell me, Sakura, former princess of Hoshido. You are to rule a throne of a belligerent, rebellious territory that your country has just captured. One of the former throne's family still remains alive, ready for any rebellion to claim as the rightful ruler. What do you do?"

Sakura couldn't think. The snake was running loops through her stomach, her intestines, and it was getting harder to see straight. "I -"

"How could you ask her something like that?" Subaki burst out.

Right on his heels, Hana began: "You son of a Nohrian ba-" and was immediately cut off by Subaki's restraining hand once again.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The eye patched retainer turned slowly to face Hana once again. "Care to finish that sentence, little samurai?"

"S-Stop, Hana!" Sakura's voice, far from being commanding, was quavering. Even she could tell. 

"The people love you," the prince remarked without emotion from above her. Sakura jumped, having almost forgotten he was standing closer to her. "They have hidden you here, away from prying Nohrian eyes. The shrine maidens care for you, and your retainers are still at your side."

Sakura quivered, uncertain if this was a good or bad thing, but seeing her own death in front of her all the same. The younger prince was supposed to be a magic user, wasn't he? Gods. Sakura shuddered despite herself. Burning up. She always had thought fire was the least humane of the spells one could cast - singing flesh, shrieks, the scent of burning hair and charred bone. Or perhaps he would be merciful and cast something like a wind spell, one that would knock her head backwards - that would be more instantaneous. 

"You were a healer, weren't you?" Sakura blinked herself back to the present - here, with a Nohrian prince, her executioner, standing above her. 

"Y-Yes," she said softly, uncertain if the question was rhetorical or not, but not caring much at this point. If she listened to what he said, if she followed his instructions, maybe her retainers would live. That thought wasn't much worth pursuing, because the more she thought about it, the more she knew that her retainers would both fling themselves uselessly, to their deaths, against the prince if he so much as raised his hand.

He nodded slowly. "I see."

"I'll -" Hana must have broken free from Subaki, but a quick movement from one of the prince's retainers knocked a bow into her stomach and she doubled over, coughing. Subaki made a guttural noise in his throat, threatening and furious, but instead took a step to the side, pulling Hana along with him.

"Shall I silence them, milord? Permanently?"

"Wait, Niles." The prince hadn't so much as flinched at the scuffle that had broken out behind him. "So. Sakura."

The name, so informal and sudden, made Sakura flinch.

"Tell me. Will you be a nuisance to my rule here?"

Sakura knew what all of her siblings would have said. Takumi, furious ("Go to hell and rot, Nohrian scum! I'll fight you until the day I die!"); Hinoka, shaking with repressed rage ("Over my dead body will I let you go any further!"); Ryoma, standing with his hand on Raijinto, eyes flickering with the lightning arcing around him ("That throne was my father's, and his father's before him. My honor will not allow you to touch it!"). 

But they were all dead now. And she was not her siblings. Sakura felt tears slip out of her eyes, hot with fury and shame. "N-No."

"I see." The voice was heavy with judgment. "Well then. Good day."

"What?" Subaki's voice ripped out from across the room. "Where are you going?"

"Who said you could speak to him?" The retainer - Niles, Sakura thought distantly, that had been what the prince had called him - smiled dangerously, hand reaching behind him. "No one questions Lord Leo."

"Am - Am I-I -" Sakura's voice failed her, tears still tracing their path down to her chin. Was she going to die? The snake was tightening, and she could not breathe properly. What was this exit? Was it a dismissal? 

The prince was walking away towards the door outside of her sick room, but he paused briefly to look back at her. "I will send a Nohrian doctor in presently. If your retainers attempt to interfere, or fight back, I will have them killed. I am not beyond that." He paused again. "And also. You will be moved into the castle again."

"Into the castle?" Subaki voiced the exact question Sakura could not express. His tone was stunned. So was she.

"She will live?" Hana, breathless and suspicious all at once.

"Milord," the retainer - Niles, Sakura reminded herself again, for she was going to live, after all, wasn't she, and she needed to remember things like this - said almost pleadingly, a hand on what looked like a bow strapped to his back.

"We're leaving, Niles." The prince swept out of the room in a flutter of a black cloak, and the two retainers trailed afterwards. 

The one with a torch left without a backwards glance; Niles paused in a moment at the doorway, posture threatening in its supposed languor. "Believe me, Hoshidans. If you so much as look at Lord Leo the wrong way again, you will regret the day you did not perish on the battlefield."

"Niles." The prince's voice, distant, rapped insistently above them. 

"Do you understand?" The retainer smiled poisonously at Subaki and Hana. 

Sakura could tell that only Subaki's restraint was holding Hana back from jumping straight at him. They stared each other down for a second before the man smirked once again and climbed back up the stairs, shutting the door with a bang behind him. They were left in the darkness once again.

Subaki held Hana in place for a few seconds more before, all at once, she pulled away from him and threw herself at the floor, furious. "Gods! I could murder him! Where is my sword? Nohrian scum! I would slit his throat!"

"Hana," Subaki said warningly. 

"The way that prince looked at you!" Hana hissed to Sakura. Sakura didn't need to see her to know her eyes were welling with tears. "You are a princess!"

"Hana," Sakura said quietly, hands still shaking, but relief pressing down upon her - blessed relief. Never had she been so glad to be deep below a shrine and not somewhere in a court room with many eyes upon her. "Hana, I - I'm not a princess anymore."

"Of course you are!" Hana said, voice scratchy with tears.

"Lady Sakura, you are always a princess in our eyes." Subaki's voice was heavy with warmth, but even he could not hide the hoarseness of his voice that spoke of tears unshed.

Sakura felt her eyes prickle with a fresh wave of tears at her retainers. They were so loyal. The gods alone had sent them, she was sure. She had never deserved them.

"Th-Thank you. Both of you." Sakura could not hide the wetness of her voice as tears made their way down her face and down her neck. "F-For everything."

"It is our pleasure." Subaki had to speak for both of them, because Hana was now shaking with sobs to match those of her mistress.

Hana crawled up to her and all of the sudden Sakura was being embraced, and the hot tears upon her were not just her own. Sakura buried her face in Hana's hair, despite its scratchiness. Who was she, without them? Just a girl with brightly-colored hair, in a damp basement of a shrine - a girl who no one remembered as a princess. A coward, a failed royal, a disgrace to her people.

But at least - and Sakura flinched at her own thoughts, recoiled from them as she recognized their cowardice - at least she would live.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it seems like there's more from Leo's perspective in this... it's because there is. 
> 
> I'm the first to admit I'm not a huge fan of this chapter's ending, but please forgive me because I couldn't find a better one. Next chapter will be a monstrosity and will likely be written like 7x better than this one to make up for it. Get ready, folks.

"They say the throne is most powerful, milord," Odin hissed across the room. It was almost impressive, Leo reflected, that he was able to do so through such a wide grin. "Spells and dark magics have been woven around it by the most powerful of Hoshidan sorcerers! They say it can reveal the true being of the man who sits upon it!"

"The true being?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Odin, I don't subscribe to superstition."

"Milord, it is true!" Odin waved his hands dramatically around him, and then gestured to the throne. Niles rolled his eyes. "I have heard some of the Hoshidans, milord," he added, coming closer, eyes narrowing as he did so, "whisper that you might change forms when you sit upon it!"

"Really, Odin," Niles snorted. "Are you a child?"

"It is perfectly true!" Odin said indignantly. "Just because you know nothing of the dark magics as I, Odin, master of the darkness that heeds my beck and call - the darkness that knows my one, true name, as no one else does -"

"Odin, please." Leo folded his arms. "Country after country have legends about the power of their thrones. They're just meant to ward off foreigners from attempting to sit upon them."

"But milord!" Odin said huffily, "I'm not kidding!" 

"There is a magic around this place," Leo said thoughtfully, casting his eyes around the throne room as he did so. It was opulent to say the least: gold, embroidered silk, carvings that would put Nohrian sculptors to shame. And yet it was not without a deep, almost-silent hum of power. He eyed the throne. If it was cursed, there would be ample time to break the curse.

"Milord, please tell me you don't believe this fool's ranting," Niles scoffed, striding up to the throne . The two rows of Nohrian guards to its sides stiffened further as he did so. Leo snorted to see them so uneasy - the Nohrian troops positioned here had been Iago's, once, and they were apparently still waiting for Leo to punish them for their master's deeds.

"He cannot touch the throne," a voice snapped out from the side of the room. Even Niles paused, halfway up the steps to the throne. Leo turned slightly to look at the man standing there. Dark haired, but his hair was lined in erratic patches with grey. He stood just as stiffly as the guards, arms bound in front of him as though the mechanics he had once pulled to his beck and call would jump to his defense if he could move his wrists. The guards at his sides shot him glares.

"Yukimura," Leo acknowledged. 

"'Tis true, milord," Odin said quickly, jumping back into the conversation, "he would burst into flames at the mere touch of the marble to his a-"

"That's enough, Odin," Leo said sharply. Odin's mouth shut quickly. He turned back to Yukimura. "Tell me, then. Is what my retainer has exaggerated true?"

"The Dawn Dragon settles heavily across this place," Yukimura said, with effort, and none-too-little scorn. "The throne shows the true form of the seated. If they are an imposter, the whole court will know."

"So then. As I claim to be Leo, Prince of Nohr and ruler of Hoshido, then, it will not reject me." Leo eyed the man. 

Yukimura's mouth ground into a flat line. "We shall see." Leo raised his eyebrows. Yukimura's mouth thinned further. "Milord."

"Then let us see." Leo strode to the throne, past Niles and past the two lines of Nohrian guards, and then paused.

The throne hummed slightly, a reverberation he perhaps would not have noticed if he had not been familiar with magic. Pure magic, not unlike the humming power that people said Azura, Corrin's newest comrade, possessed. Leo's eyes narrowed. He reached out a hand over the throne, attempting to feel the magic's source. He nodded slowly; it was indeed apparently the throne, and the magic was almost palpable when he looked for it. It sat, thick and heavy, like a blanket across the throne. But it was not altogether dangerous. The magic did not - could not - distinguish between bloodline. It was magic, and it bent to the wielder. 

Leo turned, looked at the congregation around him. The huge throne room was almost empty; the sole inhabitants were Nohrians and one, broken Hoshidan advisor. The formal announcement would come later. But for now - Leo sat down. 

All at once his skull vibrated, and blood began to roar in his ears. It felt like the second before he cast Brynhildr - a sudden rush - except it was lasting for longer. The magic coursed through him, white and searching, arcing and lacing its way through him -

And then all of the sudden it was gone. Leo blinked, face still impassive. He resisted the urge to look down at himself, certain no change had occurred. 

"So. Yukimura. Tell me. Have I changed?"

A tremor ran through the man. He gritted his teeth. "No. Milord."

"So." Leo rested his arms on the armrests briefly and looked out at the throne room. It was empty now, but soon they would formally announce his coronation, send out requirements for the Hoshidans left to come and pay obeisance to him. "Let us continue."

* * *

When the doctor came, Sakura was surprised. The prince's word, however easily-given, was being followed. Subaki and Hana had hovered behind him, observing his every motion; Hana had insisted on trying the medicine he offered her before Sakura got the chance to drink it, in order to ensure she was not about to be poisoned. 

No such caution, however, was necessary. The doctor tutted at the condition she was in, and appeared indifferent to the fact that his patient was a Hoshidan, a former princess, and had been previously hiding from his country's prince. He berated the air above her instead of her retainers for the damp, and the lack of medicine, and the condition of the sheets she had been lying upon. He frowned all the way through his physical examination of her, prodded her stomach and ensured she had suffered no internal bleeding. Even better, he did not ask where the chafing on her wrists had originated, or the blossoming bruise on her sternum that still had not faded from Fort Jinya (though he scowled at it, and Sakura wondered if she would carry Corrin's blow on her for the rest of her life). He was, in short, the first Nohrian Sakura had not been forced to thoroughly despise.

The third time the doctor had came back, he had surveyed her once again and noted the new clearness in her eyes, the ease she was able to sit and stand, and nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

"Is she healed?" Hana asked quickly, hurrying over as though her proximity would speed an answer. 

The doctor looked at Sakura. "How do you feel?"

"I…" Sakura looked down at herself. Despite the weight loss from her vomiting spells, and the ache she sometimes felt in her chest, she felt better. She could eat food - whole food, not just rice and rice porridge and broth. Her cough, though it had been the last thing to disappear, was finally gone. "I-I think I'm doing better."

"As you should." The doctor nodded several times as though confirming her analysis. "You look far better."

"No thanks to your soldiers," Hana said, nose wrinkling at the doctor; she shot a glare at the shut door that concealed one of the soldiers she spoke of.

"H-Hana," Sakura said softly, sneaking a glance at the man.

"Hm." He folded his arms, but continued as though he had not heard. "Your conditions, I am told, will soon be changing, which should be good for you."

"Where is she going?" Subaki, who had been hovering directly behind Sakura, also stepped forwards. "Is she moving to the castle?"

"So I am told." The doctor nodded again. "I was also informed to explain to you, madam, that you should prepare yourself to move within three days."

"Within three days?" Subaki asked in disbelief. 

"Wh-Where in the castle am I g-going?" Sakura asked, shooting a worried glance at the door, as though the soldier could hear.

"Of this matter, I was not informed." The doctor began to pack his tools back into his leather satchel.

"Who is going?" Hana prodded suspiciously. "Is it just Lady Sakura? Or us as well?"

"We are going as well," Subaki said firmly, but eyes fixed on the doctor for some sign of confirmation. "They must know that."

The doctor shrugged, apparently hearing the unspoken question in Subaki's words. "I am not told such things. I have healed you, and this is all I can do at the moment."

"Surely you must know something," Subaki said quickly. 

"I cannot help you. All I know is that she is moving in three days." The doctor cast him a level stare. "I am sorry."

Sakura opened her mouth, more in worry than in the urge to speak, but whatever Sakura had been about to say was lost as the doctor shook his head and strode from the room. Her words petered out at the sight of the guard, just on the other side of the door.

* * *

Leo strode into the shrine, flanked only by two Nohrian guards; his retainers had been left behind at the castle. The shrine maidens, stiffening at his appearance, dropped swift bows. Ignoring their inclined heads, he continued to the back room that hid the stairs down the basement he had descended almost a month beforehand. A Nohrian soldier nodded stiffly at him as he approached the stairs, and swung open the trapdoor that concealed them from view so Leo could descend.

As he rounded the stairs, he met eyes with the second soldier, who had been posted beside the door and who immediately stood straighter at his master's approach. "Lord Leo."

"The door, please," Leo said perfunctorily, and the guard immediately swung the door open with a creak.

The smell was still as recognizable as it had been a month ago - rot, must, and the sweaty musk of sickness - but it had faded slightly. The younger retainer, the girl, stiffened and stood immediately at his approach, eyes immediately narrowing. Her samurai uniform had a loose thread that was trailing down from her left sleeve, but her poise was perfect. Thankfully, her fury made her thoughts easy to read. 

However, the man was less predictable. Leo eyed him. He was slower to react to Leo's sudden entrance, but he stood carefully and walked around the room to Leo's other side. His hair was long as Leo's sisters', and his clothes were the shapeless ones of Hoshidan peasantry, though Leo was aware he had been a pegasus knight. His eyes were hooded, but Leo could see the familiar tension of a spring waiting to uncoil in his posture.

The former princess, however, was seated directly in front of him. A small bundle of what looked like clothes sat beside her. Leo could not help but notice the hunching of her shoulders, exactly the same as the first time he had seen her, and the new absence of circles beneath her eyes. 

At his gaze, the girl flinched. Leo paused, but began. "You are prepared to move to the castle, I assume?"

"Y-Yes." The girl stood. Her clothes were simple as well, the identical white and red of the shrine maidens upstairs. The only thing that marked her as nobility were the small hairclips that had been carefully set into either side of her hair. "I-I am."

"We will be accompanying her, of course," the female retainer said immediately. 

Leo shut his eyes momentarily, having expected this. "I am afraid not."

"We will be." The man straightened and walked several steps forward. Though he held no weapon, his gait made the soldier at Leo's side move protectively to guard Leo's shoulder. 

"That is not your decision," Leo said firmly, fixing his gaze on the retainers one at a time. "As retainers, I should have you stripped of your positions and executed. I am aware that Hoshidan law, as well as Nohrian, commands retainers to prevent any hardship to their master or perish trying, and I am under the impression you have both broken this law."

"N-No!" The former princess took several steps forward and looked back and forth between her retainers and himself. A flush painted itself across her cheeks, and her eyes when she looked at him were afraid. "N-Not them. P-Please. I-I have not allowed them to - to -" 

The thought, apparently, of her retainers dying, or committing ritual suicide, was too much. Leo watched as she broke off, her eyes shutting tightly as her head dipped, her pink hair shading her expression from view. 

"You - You may be correct." The male retainer said this effortfully, but his jaw was set. "But even so, we are alive now, and we are going to stand at her side as long as she will have us."

What was it, Leo wondered, that made them remain at her side? Had she saved them from something horrific, as he had saved Niles? Had they been thrust upon her by her father, as Odin had been? There was a bond there, as solid as oak, that caused her retainers to push back against him each time he came in. He posed, in their eyes, no small threat to the former princess.

"I understand that." Leo once more leveled his gaze at the pink-haired girl - or, really, the top of her head. "Nonetheless, I am unable to allow you to stay with her in the castle at the moment."

"Unable?" The woman retainer snarled. 

"Who is preventing you from doing it?" The man immediately followed on the heels of the other's words. 

Leo frowned as the former princess suddenly met his eyes. Her eyes were wide, pleading, and a sudden spike of discomfort caused him to shift slightly. Elise sprung to mind, unbidden, and he folded his arms as though to drive the thought away. "No one is preventing me. I am preventing both of you." 

"Why?" The brown-haired girl was furious now, taking another step forwards.

Leo's brow furrowed. "I am ensuring that you both will not be a hindrance to Nohrian rule. You both served in the army."

"The Hoshidan army has been disbanded and replaced with your own, as you should well know," the man said immediately. "Your elder brother allowed the both of us to serve at Lady Sakura's side."

"How do you expect to 'ensure' we won't be a hindrance?" the other retainer said, mouth curling unpleasantly at the words in her mouth, her shoulders raised like the hackles of a dog. "Inspect our thoughts?"

"Th-They won't be any trouble," the princess said, eyes on him again. Leo was struck once again, uncomfortably, by the strange similarity her gaze had to Elise - or Corrin. Now that the thought had come, it was hard to shake away. "Y-You h-have my word."

"I am afraid it is impossible to take your word at the moment, Lady Sakura." Leo used the title before he had realized it, and the girl jumped. Leo bit his tongue in irritation at his slip, but did not allow his expression to change. "I am dealing with a country that has lost everything. People are desperate."

"We would never do anything that could endanger Lady Sakura," the man said sharply. "Surely you do not believe us such fools as that."

"I do not take you for fools," Leo said simply. "I am being cautious. Uprisings have been common."

"That's because the scum you placed on the throne deserved no better," the female retainer hissed, hands curling into fists. 

"I agree," Leo responded neutrally, folding his arms. "My brother came to rid him of his position because he was a nuisance to both Hoshido and Nohr, and unnecessarily cruel. But your words imply that a deserving ruler would be treated better." 

"No Nohrian will ever be accepted on the throne of Hoshido," the girl scowled. 

"Mind your mouth," one of Leo's guards uttered automatically. "Do you know who you speak with?"

Leo shook his head at the man. "We are done here, regardless." He looked to the former princess once again. "If you will come with me."

"C-Can they come w-with me?" The girl (was she a lady any longer? There was no protocol regarding titles for a former princess) - Sakura - looked up at him for a millisecond before immediately averting her eyes. 

"At the moment, they will serve as guards elsewhere in the palace. If they prove themselves worthy, they will be returned to caring for you." Leo nodded at the retainers, who both looked increasingly furious. He tilted his head at the guard beside him. "I will leave him here to sort out their temporary positions."

"T-Temporary?" The girl repeated, quietly. Was there always a tremor in her voice, he wondered, or was it only present when he spoke to her?

"If you will follow me." Leo turned around and began to walk up the stairs. There was a brief pause, and he could hear quiet voices in the room beneath him, before a pair of soft-soled feet came up the stairs behind him, trailed by the familiar clink of a Nohrian guard.

"You will be staying in guest rooms," Leo said shortly. He glanced at her again. She was clutching the bundle of clothes over her chest like a lifeline, and her shoulders had hunched over a few degrees further.

"Y-Yes." The girl's voice was barely a whisper. Leo nodded slowly at her lack of a response, and then began to walk out of the shrine once again.

A passing shrine maiden looked at the girl, and then at Leo. Leo could see the anger in her eyes as she stared at him. Here it was: Nohr in the eyes of the Hoshidan people. His country, his home - condemned in the gaze of thousands of victims, for war crimes his people had surely committed. And yet his father wished for subjugation, for obeisance, for _worship_ from this country - as though thousands of deaths could be erased from the collective memory of a nation. He passed a hand over his eyes, willing himself to remain focused on the task at hand - just one of several unpleasant ones before him.

She trailed several steps behind him, clearly wanting to avoid any interaction. This was understandable. Leo thought as he walked of his previous conversation of Xander - of Xander's last words. Curse Camila, Leo thought. Only she would think of such a thing as marriage - Xander was far too battle-minded and his father too focused on his end goals to see the things that could help him accomplish them. 

And yet it had been only a suggestion. Leo was miles away from Nohr, and he knew that Father only cared for results, not for means. No one would be forcing him to marry her, if he did not wish to - and he certainly did not wish to. Gods. To force oneself on an unwilling woman. Leo thought of his father again, of his endless concubines, each not entirely willing to smile and flutter their eyelashes to his father's stony face, and of his mother's hatred of his father. He shook his head. No. It would not stand.

"Lord Leo." 

Leo looked up to see a man striding down the castle stairs towards him - a Hoshidan, one of the staff that populated the castle and had bowed to the rule of the Nohrians well (or, at least, as far as they could tell. Leo found himself worrying rather more than he would like that someone would call for revolution and all the supposedly calm Hoshidans he had encountered would revolt and attempt to kill them as they slept). "Yes?"

"I am here to take L-" the man stumbled on the word, evidently realizing the implication of calling the girl by her royal title, pausing as his gaze flitted from Leo to the girl behind him and back again. Leo frowned. "Ah - Miss Sakura to her rooms."

Leo nodded. "I will accompany her as well." It never hurt to be careful. At least this way, he could ensure no one would attempt to contact her as she traveled to her rooms.

"Of - Of course, milord." The Hoshidan bowed. "If you would be so kind as to follow me."

The man hurried back up the castle stairs, and Leo followed, not glancing back to ensure the girl was following; she had to be, or he would hear of it from the guard. At the top of the stairs, the servant slid open a door and bowed them in once again. Leo entered, and then stood aside so the girl and the guard could enter as well. The girl came in hesitantly, and Leo saw with sudden clarity that her eyes were wet. He looked away, bit his tongue. He did not have the mental energy to deal with this, especially not from the enemy. (Even so, his mind traitorously brought Elise to mind again. She had cried when he had left for Hoshido, weeping openly, while Camilla and Xander had languidly waved him away, eyes decidedly dry. Leo forced it from his mind.)

"If you will continue," the servant said unnecessarily, perhaps in an attempt to mask the uncomfortable silence of the princess, who was now trying to wipe her eyes without looking like she was doing so. Leo, for his part, tried to avoid looking at her.

They continued down the hallways of the palace, the mats below them muffling any noise they might have otherwise made. Several quick turns led them to an isolated corner of the palace - the guest rooms. Leo glanced to his left. The girl was still following, but her face had been forced into a stiff mask of discomfort. Her eyes were dry, now, but her hair only accented the red of her eyes and her nose. 

Leo glanced at the door they were facing. "This is yours." 

The girl didn’t move. Her clothes were clutched to her chest. Leo fought back a sigh, and nodded to the servant, who rolled the door back. She still didn't budge.

"Go inside," Leo said bluntly. The girl jolted upright and almost looked at him before turning away again in a swish of pink hair. The guards on either side of him shifted, armor clinking. The girl stiffened at the noise, and took a hesitant step forwards before leaning into the motion and walking, back still straight, into the room. Even the servant was careful to at the floor instead of at her, Leo noted. 

"You'll find everything you need in the room." Leo tilted his head at the guards, who took their cue and walked to flank either side of the rolling door. "If there is something you require, the guards will assist you. You will receive anything you should require, if you should ask for it."

The girl hadn't turned around, still. Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. Was she going to simply ignore him?

He waited a second more, in case she decided to respond, but she remained frozen in place. "Good day."

Leo had almost moved to turn around before the girl looked behind her. He momentarily paused, gaze caught by the girl's eyes - green, bright, and burning with something he had seen flicker in Corrin's eyes before. Something like fury, or humiliation, or disrespect, or pride. The guards shut the door before he had the chance to figure it out, and Leo found himself looking at a rice paper screen instead of a face, vibrant in the face of imprisonment.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you this would be a long one, didn't I? 
> 
> (A late happy new year to all of you ❤)

It was a coronation - that was certain. They had adapted all the old Hoshidan traditions. The formal procession. The presentation of the crown. The formal seating of the new ruler in the throne. The very fact that they had gathered so many nobles, from all across Hoshido, to pay tribute, spoke volumes about the research that the Nohrians must have done to replicate older Hoshidan coronations.

Sakura sat, dizzy and hot in no less than four layers of formal robes, to the left of the throne. "On display," Hana had called it, snarling, when they had been informed by their Nohrian captors that this would be the case. But Sakura didn't feel on display - to be honest, she barely felt anything outside of a strange detachment from the scene around her.

It was like watching dolls reenact the traditions of old. As though a child was sitting above them, as though the roof was just a dollhouse roof and some invisible, giant child was placing people around the room, making them speak. If the gods were indeed behind everything, Sakura wondered at their age. This kind of irony had to be childish.

She would have also sat at the left of the throne when Ryoma would have been crowned. It was the position of honor, in a sense; you were placed here to be seen. Herself, and Hinoka, and Takumi - all of them should have been sitting here. Instead, it was just herself and Yukimura, although Yukimura was seated slightly behind her, and in far less ornate robes. And to their sides were two Nohrian soldiers, black armor polished to a sheen. 

The rows of courtiers and nobles stretched out in wave after wave of faces before her. The glitter of jewels was absent entirely. Perhaps the Nohrians had noticed by now, or perhaps they had not realized, but all of the people before them were dressed in black. Sakura had braced herself for tears, but the situation was so bizarre that it was laughter that bubbled in her throat instead; she knew it was the kind of laughter that dissolved instantly into tears, so she kept her mouth shut. Maybe the Nohrians would think it was some sort of strange homage to the Nohrian penchant to dark clothing instead of what it was - a mourning for the loss of their rulers. She would have dressed in black as well, but the Nohrians had insisted on her wearing some ridiculous, gold-threaded formal robes they had gotten from gods-knew-where . Sakura had never seen them before, and they were too large on her.

"I present to you the new ruler of the Hoshidan provinces - Lord Leo, Prince of Nohr." Sakura's eyes snapped back despite her better wishes to the golden throne just behind her, the word 'provinces' reverberating painfully in her chest. The prince, who had previously been standing just before it, sat down on the throne.

Sakura held her breath, and knew that all others behind her was waiting as well. The throne had held only Hoshidans for generations. Perhaps something - something - would happen. 

Sakura knew as soon as the thought had crossed her conscious understanding that nothing would happen - or was happening. A murmur ran through the crowds in front of her as the nobility reached the same conclusion: the throne had accepted him, for worse or for better. His true form sat in front of them - black-armored, golden haired, and impassive. He was only about as tall as her eldest brother - perhaps shorter. But it was he who sat on the throne instead of her brother.

"The presentation of the royal regalia," the same voice rang out before them. It was a Hoshidan priest Sakura vaguely recognized from the period before the war (the period that seemed so far away now, Sakura thought, when she didn't worry about soldiers, when her stomach wasn't constantly in pain). And now he was serving a Nohrian. It wasn't hard to forgive him for doing his duties, Sakura thought. They all would be working for the Nohrians. That was why she was currently sitting here: they were all through threats, even if the threats were merely implied.

A series of shrine maidens, each in the traditional attire, proceeded slowly down the center of the throne room, reverently carrying the treasures of her family. Sakura shut her eyes. Fushin no Yumi. Raijinto. And the crown of Hoshido, white and horned. In her blurred memories of her father, he wore it; she remembered crying once because it had scared her. 

"Fushin no Yumi," the priest intoned. Though Sakura did not open her eyes, she knew from paintings and histories she had read that the two shrine maidens were carrying the bow carefully between them up the dais to the new ruler for him to touch. Sakura tried to think less about her brother, but the less she tried to think of him, the more his face came to mind. 

Takumi. He would be furious, now. He would have leaped to the throne, pulled his bow away ("How could you let that Nohrian scum soil my bow?"), yelled and ranted and raved, shot an arrow straight in the prince's heart. He would have threatened the priest for his collaboration, would have yelled at her for sitting there, docilely, until she cried. Sakura fought the tears, now, but for different reasons.

"Raijinto." 

The tears did come, now. Oh, Ryoma. He should be here, instead of this golden-haired, stony-faced man. He would have drawn the sword, and lightning would have cracked through the room, making the courtiers run away in fear. A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and then look to her side. 

Yukimura's eyes were wet as well. This was almost worse: to see the man she had looked to as an uncle, though they shared no blood, on the verge of tears. Sakura quickly looked ahead once again, flicking her head so her bangs and the curtain of her hair covered her view of him entirely. She would not sob. Not openly. The ceremony was short, and it would be done soon.

"The royal crown of Hoshido." 

Sakura blinked several times quickly. At least this time the image was not of a brother, but a long-since-forgotten father. Her mother had never used the royal crown, preferring the sun-styled crown she had always looped through her hair.

There was a pause, and a clink of metal. Sakura waited.

"All rise for the ruler of the Hoshidan provinces." The word stabbed Sakura again: 'provinces.' No longer a country. A province.

A hand on her arm helped her upwards. Yukimura. She fought tears all over again at the kindness of it. He helped her move around so she, like everyone else, was facing him. The prince stood, flanked by six shrine maidens, with Raijinto on his right and Fushin no Yumi on his left. On his brow, the white crown. It fit him, and Sakura couldn't help but begrudge him for that small victory; somehow, it suited him. He was so pale that it looked almost natural - a demonic extension of his hair and face. His retainers were standing directly to his sides, almost hidden by the shrine maidens, and behind even them, row after row of Nohrian guards. She hated black armor.

A pause, and then the room bowed along with the priest who was leading the ceremony. Sakura's back went down along with the rest of them, and she closed her eyes so she would not see the marble in front of her. They waited for a second, and, in a rush of shifting clothes, straightened.

The prince cleared his throat. Sakura shut her eyes again.

"People of Hoshido." Hoshido. Sakura's eyes opened as she noted the difference. "I understand this has been long already, so I will be brief.

"I am not Hoshidan. This is obvious to you, and likely upsetting as well. Nonetheless, this is where I will rule from now on." A pause. "You have been abused. Your soldiers have been killed ruthlessly, and your traditions disrespected."

Sakura drew in a breath, and could hear Yukimura draw in one audibly beside her. The prince's expression was not entirely clear from their distance, as the crown shaded his eyes. 

"Nohr has not made a good impression here, and I am aware of that. Even so, I am hopeful that the years ahead of us will be better than the previous. These will be times of peace if we work together. Nohr no longer has to be your enemy - there will be no more fighting, if you choose cooperation. Hoshido will be valued well as a Nohrian territory - you have my word."

If you choose cooperation, Sakura thought. There was an 'if' in that sentence.

"However. If you choose rebellion, it will be quelled. Immediately. You are a Nohrian territory now, so let it be known: In Nohr there is only one punishment for traitors."

Yukimura's mouth thinned beside her. Sakura fought to swallow.

"Death."

The silence in the room stretched on for several seconds before the prince continued. "However, I am hopeful we can avoid this. Many of you are likely worried about what this new rule means for your country. Again, I will be brief, but here is the main of it.

"My understanding is that Hoshido values tradition. I respect that. Your traditions shall not be infringed upon. Nonetheless, things will change: primarily, trade with Nohr and the rest of its provinces will increase dramatically. I will also be instating the Nohrian tradition of petitioning; essentially, I will set aside hours each week to hear complaints from whomever decides to enter the throne rooms. I shall hold the first petitioning tomorrow. You may come ask what you like, but any threats or violence will not be borne."

He paused, and Sakura could feel his gaze sweep the room, even if she could not see it. His words, when they came, were conclusive. "Be your thoughts what they may, I am ruler of Hoshido presently. You do not trust me now. But one day I hope you will be able to."

No applause followed his words. The silence was almost painful - more so, even, than the silences between his words. The prince nodded, as though this had been planned, and gave a careful look at the priest, who quickly nodded to the musicians sitting at the edge of the room. They quickly began to play an imperial march, and the priestesses began to process back down the line, carrying Raijinto and Fushin no Yumi as they did so. Sakura watched as the blade and the bow passed her once again, close enough that she could have almost touched them.

As the march struck up its loudest chords, the prince began to walk off the throne and into the side door, flanked by his retainers and then the two lines of Nohrian guards. 

"Go." The guard to her left said suddenly. Sakura jumped.

Yukimura frowned bitterly, and turned to her, voice quiet. "It appears we are joining the royal procession for the moment, Lady Sakura."

"I… I see." Sakura fought back the sudden rise of bile in her stomach. Yukimura placed a hand on her shoulder again, and the weight steadied her.

The guard to her left began to walk forwards. She paused only a second - to look back at Yukimura, who nodded reassuringly - before beginning to follow. The shifting of robes behind her, and then the clanking of metal, were the only indication that Yukimura and the other guard were trailing behind her.

The stretch of marble floor, so short in reality, stretched itself to league after league in her mind. She could take only short steps in her formal robes, and the press of eyes on her was unbearable. The thought that the nobles were all looking at her (for, of course, they were) would have been enough to make her faint. But she had done many things today already that she had thought would have made her faint, and she was still standing. 

The guard led them to the door the prince had just processed out of (it led to an interior room, Sakura knew, where her mother had prepared for her audiences with her court) and from that room into another room, this one smaller, and populated only with the prince and his two retainers. 

The guard stopped short at the doorway. "Milord. The Hoshidans."

"I would expect there are more Hoshidans than two," one of the retainers purred mockingly. Sakura recognized the voice. Niles. His hair was white, and it contrasted sharply with his darker skin and even darker clothes. 

The guard stuttered something unintelligible and Sakura flinched, more at the retainer's gaze than the guard.

"Thank you," the prince said dismissively. The guard in front of her left, and now Sakura was directly facing the man. She immediately noticed the crown was gone from his brow - it had been placed on the table in front of him, and in its place lay a black circlet. His eyes bored into hers, and Sakura involuntarily shuddered. 

Yukimura, evidently sensing her immediate distress, walked to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the trio of Nohrians before them. "What is it you want?"

"I should think you know to call him 'milord' by now, Yukimura." Niles's tone was poisonous. "Or shall I beat that thought into you?"

"Niles, peace." The blond surveyed the two of them. "Yukimura. I have said this before, but I wish us to work together. You have knowledge I will benefit from, and I offer you a chance to influence the throne of Hoshido once again. Why are you refusing to cooperate?"

"Your words speak of cooperation, but your actions speak of armed guards and death threats." Yukimura paused deliberately. "Milord."

"It takes both to rule a kingdom," the prince said bluntly. "But I wish for your advice."

Sakura blinked nervously, shifting in her robes. The other retainer - blond, she could see now that they were both in the light, and dressed in the skin-tight fabrics of Nohrian mages - was eyeing her. 

"Tell me. Do you think the people of Hoshido will cooperate with us?" The prince looked at the two of them thoughtfully.

"I can hardly be expected to know the personal allegiances of every member of my country, milord." Yukimura's words were tart, and Sakura could tell the use of 'country' was also deliberate. Yukimura was always deliberate.

The prince grinned slightly, and Sakura swallowed. The last time she had seen a Nohrian ruler smile, he had been killing her soldiers in front of her. She raised her hand to her chest involuntarily, as though to guard herself.

"True. I would not expect you to." He folded his arms. "However, I am sure an advisor as experienced as you has a general idea of the court. You would not have been given such a high position without such knowledge."

"You wish for advice that I cannot give you." Yukimura's tone was sharp.

The prince's eyes narrowed. Sakura watched as the white-haired retainer moved closer to them, his steps languid and cat-like, but his hands reaching for a dagger at his side. Sakura let out an audible gasp, and she pulled at Yukimura's sleeve.

"You would do well to listen to her," the retainer said, nodding at Sakura. "At least she has a survival instinct."

"You will not speak of Lady Sakura in such a way," Yukimura snapped. "I -"

"Watch your mouth," the retainer snarled, stepping closer.

"Stop!" Sakura said wildly, hands shaking at the impending confrontation. She looked pleadingly to the prince. "S-Stop him!"

"Niles!" The prince shot a irritated look at his retainer. "Did I tell you that you could act? Control yourself."

"Milord, forgive me. I cannot bear to have you spoken to in such a way." The retainer eyed Yukimura in a way that made Sakura's hands fist uselessly at her sides.

"Milord!" All of the sudden, the blond retainer burst into action, arms waving wildly. Sakura jumped, and took a full step backwards. "Merely let me assist! I am certain that with my aid -"

"Shut up," Niles said immediately. "Lord Leo specifically told you not to interfere."

"Both of you." They both jolted slightly at the prince's tone. "Please."

Sakura's hands were still shaking, but she stared back at the prince nonetheless. Yukimura unbent himself slowly beside her, eyes closed behind his glasses. His face was written in the same mask of emotionlessness she had seen him wear on the day they had been captured at Fort Jinya. It was the thought of that day, beyond any other, that propelled her into speaking. 

"I-It is useless to speak of - of aiding Hoshido w-when you use v-violence to - to abuse us." The prince blinked at her. Sakura shook visibly, her teeth chattering with fear, rage, and humiliation. "Y-Your speech… Y-You talked about t-trusting y-you. Wh-Who trusts someone wh-who just lets his r-retainers s-silence voices of d-dissent?"

"Dissent is not the same as active interference," the prince said. "However, your point is valid, and I apologize on behalf of my retainers."

"Lady Sakura," Yukimura said, and the soft disbelief in his voice made Sakura all the more red (and as to the emotion she flushed for, she was not sure, but she knew Yukimura had not believed she could have said such things). 

"While you are feeling talkative," the prince addressed her, "I will have the discussion I wished to have with you."

He nodded at the blond retainer, who quickly left the room. Sakura swallowed, blood still rushing in her ears. The retainer quickly entered again, and behind him - 

"Lady Sakura!" Her retainers, somehow in sync. Sakura breathed out slightly. She had not known what she had expected, but it had not been this. Her retainers both looked slightly grimy, and neither were with their weapons, but they were Subaki and Hana, and merely having them flank her sides, knowing they were both glaring at the Nohrian retainers, was reassuring.

"Good. Now that we are all here." The prince drummed his fingers on the table in front of him. 

"I have a question," Yukimura interjected suddenly. "Milord. What is Lady Sakura's role here?" 

"If you could be patient, I am getting to that." The prince looked at Sakura, and Sakura stiffened involuntarily once more. Her retainers drew themselves slightly upwards again, as though to reassure her they were still there. "Do you know, Lady Sakura, why you are still alive?"

Sakura noted the formal title before she noted the question's content itself, and then was struck dumb by the question. She blinked, mouth slightly open, flush spreading across her cheeks, and heart beginning to beat quickly once more. The four layers of robes made it hard to breathe, and his piercing stare made it harder. Was she supposed to know? She had no idea.

The man let the pause continue for several seconds before mercifully cutting it short. "I will tell you, since you appear not to know. You are loved by your people, and it has saved you. I will not have you be a martyr for them to rally behind." 

Sakura blinked dumbly at him for a second before Hana burst into gear again: "That's -"

"Hana," Yukimura said warningly. Her retainer folded her arms, as though doing so would stop her mouth from opening again.

Sakura wondered what he wanted her to do with this information. As far as she could tell, he was waiting for her response, eyes evaluating her every move. "I… Um." She paused, and then pushed herself into a shallow bow. "Th-Thank you for sparing my life."

"Lady Sakura," Yukimura said, horrified, beside her. 

Niles snorted. "At least this one knows her place."

"Speak about Lady Sakura like that again, and I swear to you I will show you how Hoshido takes those who speak poorly of our royalty." Subaki's voice rang out, dangerously sharp, in the small room.

"Niles, if you cannot control yourself, I will ask you to leave. At least some respect is due." The prince cut him another look from across the room. "And Lady Sakura. Please also control your retainers."

Sakura swallowed, but didn't dare turn to look at Subaki, whose expression she could only imagine. "Subaki, no violence, please."

"Lady Sakura." His tone was heavy with unspoken words. "If it is your wish, I will gladly follow."

"Moving on." The prince commanded the attention in the room with the merest of words; Sakura wondered at this power. "Practicalities. You have been housed in old guest rooms, with your retainers elsewhere. You will continue to live there, but your guards will be changed to one Hoshidan guard and one of your retainers, switching out at intervals."

Sakura drew in a breath, and she knew her retainers did so as well. 

"You will be permitted free reign of the castle, under the condition that you are accompanied by a Nohrian guard wherever you go. Also, you shall be known at court as 'Lady' Sakura still. I am under the impression no one will call you anything else." 

"Of course not," Hana ground out, just loud enough to be audible. 

The prince ignored her, eyes still on Sakura. "I am granting you a kindness in giving you reign of the castle, so I expect kindness in return. Your retainers will address me as 'milord,' odious as that may be for them. While you may be no longer a princess, you are of royal heritage and I expect that you still conduct yourself as such. Thus, I expect that you will comport yourself with the dignity that befits your station."

"And what station is that?" Yukimura asked immediately.

The man surveyed Sakura again. "I am attempting to figure this out myself."

"So you don't know what to do with her," Subaki said flatly.

"Would you like the options?" the prince said, mouth curling unpleasantly in her retainer's direction. "I ruled out execution, but the others are endless."

"I would." Yukimura paused again. "Milord."

"Hm. I can give you that information, on the terms that you cooperate with me. In full." The prince eyed Yukimura now, and the curl of his lips was now self-satisfied. 

Yukimura stiffened. Sakura felt her stomach drop beneath her. She was being used as a pawn. "Fine. Milord."

"Excellent." The prince smiled further this time. "And one more thing."

"W-Wait." Sakura stopped dead as all eyes in the room turned to her. She wetted her lips and continued, looking at the table. "I h-have a question."

"Yes?" The prince looked at her.

"I-I have… have abdicated the th-throne already." Sakura stopped and then cleared her throat, feeling the wave of hope and worry rise beneath her. The thought of being out of this castle, which reminded her too much of her siblings, too much of her past, drove her onwards. "I - If I could just be a p-priestess instead -"

"Impossible." The prince's response was immediate, with a weighty finality to it.

"B-But -" Sakura tried again, desperately. The visions of peaceful days healing her people, of a simple life, were still so clear - as though their clarity would make them more likely to become reality.

"Your existence is a danger," the prince stated mercilessly. "You are an easy banner for a rebellion to fly - they could preach restoring the rightful monarchy to the throne for years on end, and it would lead to more war, and more death on both sides. Neither Nohr nor Hoshido can afford that."

Sakura winced, bowing her head. Her eyes began to grow warm, but she desperately shut them in an attempt to stop the tears from falling. Hana moved closer to her side, put an arm around her back. 

"You are more dangerous outside the castle than inside, where I can keep an eye on you. But you are also troublesome inside the castle. You are a target for nobles to try to marry, so they can raise an heir to be a contender for the throne. Killing you would be easiest, but then it would spark a whole new array of troubles."

"You will not kill Lady Sakura without severe repercussions," Yukimura said immediately. "Consider it my first piece of advice. Milord."

The prince smiled wryly. "I am aware. Thus, she lives." 

"C-Could I not even s-serve the palace shrine?" Sakura whispered, eyes still on the floor. "I will not b-be any t-trouble." 

"You must have the height of your station still, for your presence here will serve to demonstrate your support of me. And that support will propel your people to follow me." The prince was matter-of-fact.

"You cannot ask her to help you!" Hana cried, voice reverberating through Sakura at her closeness. "You have killed her family and her people - you cannot ask her to support you!"

"You're missing a 'milord,' there," Niles said snidely. Hana practically growled in his direction, but did not verbally respond.

"I am aware that what I ask is cruel." The prince's tone was softer now. Sakura chanced a glance upwards through her bangs. He was still looking at her, but his eyes were not as flinty anymore. "On some level, however, any member of royalty should expect to be used. I am treating you the best that I can, Lady Sakura. I ask that you do the same."

Sakura didn't move, eyes on the table before them. Who could call this the 'best?' Even Takumi, who despised all Nohrians, would not be so cruel as to force Nohrians to serve him. 

"Milord," Yukimura said suddenly, and Sakura blinked at the lack of the begrudging tone that had characterized that word in the past. "I would speak to you about Lady Sakura's role."

The prince drew back slightly from the table, looking between Yukimura and Sakura. "Speak."

"If what you have told me in the past is true," Yukimura said, eyes narrowing at the man in front of him, "you say you wish to avoid bloodshed between both countries in the future."

"True." The prince folded his arms. "I said as much again just now."

"I would like your honest thoughts, milord." Yukimura's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Are you intending to marry Lady Sakura?"

Sakura felt the world tilt beneath her. She didn't hear her own shuddering gasp, or the outraged cries of her retainers, or the disbelieving huff of the prince in front of her - the world spun slightly. Oh, gods. No. History lessons she had heard once, years ago, crowded her ears: princesses and princes, kings and queens, forced into marriages for the good of their countries. Unhappy marriages, driven by convenience, or mere lack of hatred, or conniving mothers and fathers. Children torn apart by parental arguments, and rifts of discord sown that reaped years of anguish. No.

"Someone hold onto her, she looks like she's about to faint." The prince's words, brusque and commanding, brought her back to the room she was standing in. Hana and Subaki both grasped one of her shoulders.

"Milady," Hana said quickly, "We won't let him do that."

"Fear not, Lady Sakura." She could hear the serious expression in Subaki's voice even if she hadn't moved her head to see it. "Take deep breaths."

"Calm yourself." The prince's eyes were still on her. "I am not planning on marrying you."

Sakura took in a breath, the world still tilting unnaturally at the edges. 

"You can give me your word?" Yukimura asked, voice sharp. On a furious look from his retainers, Yukimura amended himself: "Milord?"

"I am not planning on marrying her." The prince addressed Yukimura now. Sakura took in a breath deliberately, held it for a second, and released it. "I am not so cruel as to ask for the hand of marriage of someone who is unable to say no. You have my word."

Yukimura nodded slowly. "I see."

Sakura took in and let out another breath, the world steadying itself gradually. 

"I believe Lady Sakura may wish to sit down, so we shall make this quick." The prince eyed her. "Odin, will you bring the objects I requested?"

"Of course, milord!" The blond retainer left the room immediately and returned seconds later with two bundles - 

"My sword!" Hana cried, and Sakura saw the bright smile that flew across her face. 

"Ah." Subaki smiled as well, lopsidedly. He reached out to accept the lance, nodding at the retainer, but the retainer moved it away slightly. Subaki blinked. The retainer looked solemnly at them. Sakura's mouth opened slightly in confusion.

"Two mighty weapons," the retainer intoned slowly, raising them up to let the blades of each wink in the light. "Two -"

"Odin, is now really the time for dramatics?" the prince snapped. Sakura could have sworn he had rolled his eyes, but it had been so fast she wasn't sure if it had just been the world tilting around her again. "Just - hand over the weapons."

"But - Milord!" The blond - Odin - looked at him entreatingly. "I have named -"

"Odin." The prince did roll his eyes this time. Sakura had seen it. "Please."

Hana looked at the man, eyebrows raised and hand out. "My sword?" 

"I have named it, should you wish to hear it," the man said. "I -"

"I'm not interested." Hana frowned at him and snatched her sword from him. "Swords are tools, not children's toys to play with and give names to."

The man looked entirely affronted, and was apparently too affronted to care when Subaki swiped his lance out of his hands. "What! Children's toys? I -"

"Odin." The prince's voice had a new layer of finality to it. 

"Odin," Niles, eyes cold. "Stop making a fool of Lord Leo."

Subaki and Hana eyed the man, and Sakura joined them. Who on earth was this person? The blond man's shoulders slumped like a child as he frowned pleadingly with his lord. "Milord, please, just let me speak -"

"Odin, I've heard enough at the moment." The prince passed a hand over his eyes, but turned back to Sakura after a second. His expression looked suddenly weary, and Sakura paused at the new expression, so different from his commanding stature. "I believe, Lady Sakura, that your retainers are now prepared to care for you. Please, take your leave."

Sakura looked at him, and then at Yukimura, who smiled slightly at her - reassuring her. She was being dismissed, and yet she wished to leave the room so desperately that it almost did not matter. She looked at the prince again, and at the white crown directly in front of him. The crown, of all things, made her recall the rules Ryoma had laid out to them years before: Above all else, act of your station. Above all else, show respect, for this makes you worthy of respect. ("Take the high road, Sakura," her mother had said. "You are a princess, and you do not have the luxury of being petty.")

She bowed shallowly in the direction of the prince - not out of reverence, but out of sheer pride - and straightened. Sakura looked in the eyes of the ruler of her own country, braced herself, steadied her voice. "Good day."

The prince blinked at her, eyes just slightly wider than normal. "Yes. Good day."

Sakura nodded at him, raising her chin, and walked from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SNAPS FOR THE QUEEN


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected guest brings strange tidings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect to see less from Leo's perspective as we move forward. No particular reason besides the fact that I'm more comfortable in Sakura's head. 
> 
> (You guys thought I had forgotten about this piece, didn't you? Don't worry, it's still alive and kicking on a OneNote page somewhere.)

"Are you doing all right, Lady Sakura?" 

Sakura looked up from the book she had been listlessly scanning to see Hana's face, lined with worry. "Oh. Hana."

Her retainer walked in, and as she did so, the Nohrian guard outside also shuffled his way in, standing just inside the door. Hana shot him a glare, and the guard flinched slightly. Sakura would have smiled, normally, to see the guard so cowed into submission, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Hana sat down on the floor beside her, shifting the array of books aside so her sword would not touch them.

"You haven't left the room in two days, milady." Hana fidgeted with the front of her uniform. The stiff formality of the thick black cloth it ill-suited her, but she had not protested.

"Where could I go?" Sakura asked, more to herself than Hana, eyes still on the pages before her. The book was a frilly romance that some Nohrian had apparently assumed she would enjoy. Or perhaps it was just a book someone had carted off to her room when she had requested books from the Hoshidan library. Or perhaps it was so romance-heavy because some Nohrian might have decided she wasn't allowed to read any books about serious topics. She didn’t know. To be honest, Sakura didn't much care, either.

"Well, we could take you for a walk." Hana's eyes were still carefully scanning Sakura's face. "Or we could try to speak to Yukimura. Or we could go… yell at the prince."

Sakura huffed, the laughter dead in her throat at the very thought of actually attempting the action. "No." 

Hana's hesitant grin slid off her face. Sakura winced at her own response, but couldn't manage more than a grimace. Hana fidgeted with the tassel at the edge of her sword's hilt for a moment. Sakura, for her part, blinked at the book spread out on her lap again, willing the words to become somehow interesting - or useful. She willed it pull her out of this room and into a world where her problems did not exist. 

"We could go to the gardens, milady?" Hana tried again.

Sakura though about this. There were a few courtyards within the palace itself - little stretches of flowers, bridge-crossed lakes, and billowing grass. But - "No."

This time it was Hana who grimaced. "Milady…"

"Just Sakura is fine," Sakura said softly. "You don't have to…" Her words trailed off as she realized she wasn't certain what Hana was trying to accomplish with her continual "milady." Subaki, yes, had always titled her Lady, had always bowed (but with a wink, as the years went by), but Hana had always struggled to give her the right title. Until now, at least.

"I want to," Hana said immediately. Her jaw was set. "Even if no one else will."

Sakura shut her eyes. "I - I don't want to be 'milady' anymore." 

"You are, though." She could feel Hana's gaze on her, heavy and insistent. "Milady, you're the - the last remaining Hoshidan -"

"I don't want to be known as that!" Sakura yelled, and then stopped to take a breath in, having surprised even herself with the loudness of her cry. She met eyes with Hana, who looked as though Sakura had hit her over the head with the book she was holding, and then at the Nohrian guard, whose eyes were wide as well. She gritted her teeth at him, despite the tears forming in her eyes, and he looked away.

"M-Milady…" Hana's voice trailed off. 

"I - I don't," Sakura said helplessly, voice quiet. She hunched over the book in her lap. "I'm no longer a princess."

"You will always be a princess," Hana said quickly, and her hand shot out to Sakura's own. Her hand was warmer than Sakura's, and her calluses were rough against Sakura's workless hands. "Everyone in Hoshido -"

"I don't want them to think of me," Sakura said quickly, pulling her hand out from Hana's grasp.

"But they do," Hana said. "Everyone still loves you, Sakura."

"They shouldn't," Sakura whispered. The room was still, and she could not pull her gaze from the book in front of her. "Th-They shouldn't love me. It would be b-better if they f-forgot about me."

"Forget you? You're important, Sakura, more than you could ever know!" Hana's voice rose again. "Everyone is stronger because you're still here."

"I don't matter," Sakura said, eyes shutting. "I-I'm just a Nohrian pawn."

"Is that why you're staying here?" Hana asked suddenly. Sakura could feel her piercing gaze on her. "You - You think you're better off hiding away so he can't use you."

"I d-don't want anyone to think I - I endorse him." Sakura let the words slip into the air, the burden of the thought relieving itself slightly as she spoke. "A-And I don't want to convince anyone to r-rebel, or make anyone do anything - anything s-stupid."

"If they rebel, they do it in their own names," Hana said immediately.

"The talk of rebellion here is prohibited," the guard behind them said. Hana shot him a glare withering enough to kill flowers. He faltered slightly. "I - I'm under orders."

"Shut up," Hana said. His mouth shut. "And, if you don't mind, get out."

"But -" the man protested weakly.

Hana's gaze didn't shift. "We're in a room with one window on the third story. We're not leaving."

"My orders are -"

"Ridiculous." Hana's mouth curled. "You can hear through the door, anyways. There's no point in you having to be in the room."

The guard paused. Sakura saw the blue eyes falter slightly. "Only once."

As he left, Hana rolled her eyes. "Gods."

Sakura looked at the gleaming black armor on her retainers' arms. Pink and purple had fitted her so well. Hana had asked Oboro to line the inside of her armor with flower-patterned silk, both so it didn't chafe and so that she could wear more flowers. Sakura didn't think this armor was lined.

"Milady," Hana said, tone suddenly serious again. "Milady, you need to know that your presence is giving the people strength."

Sakura tried to focus on the sentence she had just been reading. The frilly world of samurai sweeping fainting maidens off their geta-clad feet was more appealing than this.

"Lady Sakura," Hana attempted. Sakura tilted her head downwards so that a curtain of pink blocked Hana's face from view. "Please, you have to understand this. There are some remaining soldiers. Subaki has spoken to a few of them. They're all so happy you're alive."

Sakura reread the sentence she had been staring at, but the words were blurring in front of her eyes.

"You're… they hold you up like a talisman, milady. You're… You're the last remaining speck of Hoshidan dignity."

"Dignity," Sakura said, and her voice cracked on the last syllable as a tear dropped to blot upon the pages below her. "Wh-What dignity?"

"M-Milady," Hana said, voice suddenly a whisper of pain. 

"Hana, I can't leave the room," Sakura said, head shaking. "I - I can't do it."

"Sakura -"

"I'm not anything to be held up," Sakura said softly, pain stirring somewhere below her chest. "Th-They - I can't be the person they want me to be. I'm not - I'm not Ryoma, or Hinoka, or Takumi… Or even Corrin."

"Gods be praised you're not Corrin," Hana burst out quickly, hands finding Sakura's shoulder and pulling her to face her. "Sakura, you're exactly who they want you to be. You're - You're Lady Sakura, Princess of Hoshido."

"There is no princess of Hoshido anymore!" Sakura said loudly, louder than she had intended. Hana withdrew as though she had cracked a whip above her. Sakura shifted slightly, dropped her head again. "There's - I'm just… I'm just Sakura now."

"You're not just anything, milady," Hana said, and the resolve and warmth in her voice made Sakura nervous; Hana placed too much weight in the words. "You're - You're the hope of Hoshido now."

Sakura wrapped her arms around herself and fought the sudden, bizarre urge to laugh. "I - I'm n-not anything of th-the sort." 

"Well…" Hana paused, tone regretful. "Just - milady, know that It's the truth." 

"Th-They'll just be d-disappointed," Sakura said darkly. 

"They can't be, milady," Hana said, but her voice was quiet. "They love you."

A knock at the wooden part of the sliding door made them look up again.

"Didn't I just say to stay out?" Hana asked irritably.

"There's someone here to see… to see Lady Sakura," the guard said, voice somewhat muffled.

Hana and Sakura exchanged glances. Sakura immediately drew her arms over her chest as though to ward off the potential danger this person imposed. 

Hana stood and pulled open the door. "She's not - Gods."

Sakura stiffened. Hana had gone completely still. Behind her small form, a man stood - one that Sakura recognized from years past. His green hair was slightly longer now, and his face bore a new scar, marked just below his eye. He would have almost matched with his twin.

"You." Hana's voice contained more venom than Sakura had ever thought possible. "Gods, it's you."

"Hello, Hana." Kaze's eyes grazed her retainer and then met Sakura's own. His eyes softened as he smiled - one could hardly call it a smile, but Sakura knew it as one, the barest curve of the lips. "Good day, Lady Sakura." 

"How dare you call her that?" Hana seethed. "How dare you come here? How dare you smile?" 

"I know," Kaze said quietly. "I wished to ensure with my own eyes that she lived."

"Hah! So you cannot even trust your own rulers, then? Scum like you deserves no more than to be a slave to the Nohrians." Hana's shoulders rose like hackles on a dog.

Kaze paused diplomatically. "I trust Lord Leo. I am afraid I trusted Iago less."

"So he truly is your lord, then?" Hana spat. "You betrayed your own people. Your own brother!"

Kaze shut his eyes. "I… am aware." 

"And you try to act like you care, you scum!" Hana reached to her sword, and Sakura sprung into action.

"S-Stop!" She jumped upright and grabbed for the sword as well, and Hana, momentarily thrown off balance, stopped her tirade. Sakura noticed the Nohrian guard, nervous, fingering the axe on his back. "Hana, p-please."

"It is all right, Lady Sakura." Kaze's shoulders tilted downwards fractionally, a bow not fully expressed. "I am fully aware of the damage I have caused."

"Damage!" Hana spat. "Your brother is dead!"

Kaze's face shuddered slightly - a twitch behind his closed eyelids, a spasm of his mouth. "I know."

"How dare you!" Hana's arms were tense, tightened cords of muscle beneath Sakura's hands as she grasped her retainer's arms to prevent them from drawing the sword Hana still clutched like a lifeline.

"K-Kaze," Sakura said, barely above normal whispering tones. "You - Wh-What are you d-doing here?"

"Milady, believe me, I do not mean to intrude upon your privacy for more than a moment." Kaze opened his eyes, and when he looked at her, they were heavy - weighted with something Sakura did not dare call grief. "I am aware of the delicacy of my position, and of the hatred you ought to bear me."

Sakura swallowed involuntarily, let go of Hana's arms to touch the mark on her chest where Corrin's strike had hit. Kaze had been there, that day. He had been nearby when Corrin had approached her with hair white and nearly translucent in the sunlight, a strange contrast to his blue and black armor, the same color as a darkened bruise. Had watched when Corrin ran up to her, drove the butt of his sword into her breastbone. 

Kaze's eyes followed her hand, and his mouth tightened. "I will not trouble you with a formal audience. I merely wish to offer my aid, despised though that may be."

"Aid?" Hana practically shrieked. "You think I would ever let you get near Lady Sakura?"

"Hana, I understand your position," Kaze said. Sakura was not paying any attention to the conversation, thoughts resting only on a man with white hair who she had called brother.

"You don't understand anything," Hana hissed, drawing herself up to her full height, still barely reaching the ninja's collarbones. 

"Is - Is Corrin here?" Sakura asked softly, hand unconsciously still resting upon her chest.

Kaze's face grew tighter still. "No, milady. He remains in Nohr."

"What are you doing here, then? You have no sense of honor to even your scum of a lord?" Hana immediately latched upon the point.

"I come on official business, as a messenger from Lord Corrin to Lord Leo," Kaze said, more to Sakura than Hana. "However, I came also to give you some information, if you will let me."

"No!" Hana cried. Kaze barely looked at her. 

Sakura looked at Kaze, and saw the first man who she had ever developed feelings for. The first man whose gaze she had sought, her cheeks bursting into peonies when he did look the right way. The man who had seen her dolls and not mocked them. The man whose every movement had once been gentle - gentle eyes, a gentle smile, movements so fluid they could have been gentle. A man who had betrayed her family - the ones who had raised him, the ones he had served for his whole life. Who had watched the breath get knocked out of her by her own brother, had thrown shuriken into the hearts of those who had gathered to defend her and their capital.

And yet his eyes were still so gentle. Sakura looked at them, and felt tears gather once again to the edges of her eyes. "Y-Yes."

"Milady!" Hana was apparently speechless at this betrayal.

Kaze's eyes shut. "Milady, you are…" Sakura looked at the floor. "You are too - you are too kind."

"Wh-What is it?" Sakura asked softly. "Th-That you came to say."

Kaze paused, looked carefully at Hana. "May I please have a moment of privacy with the two of you?"

Sakura glanced at the Nohrian guard. Kaze followed her gaze, and then nodded at the man. "Go down the hall. I'll find you in a moment."

The man eyed the ninja warily for a moment before looking away. "All right."

"Thank you." Kaze waited until the guard had rounded the corner of the hallway before entering the small room Sakura called her own. He immediately sat, kneeling, before her. 

Sakura kneeled as well, knees buckling beneath her ungracefully. Hana seated herself between the two, bristling at every movement Kaze made, one hand still on the hilt of her sword as a warning. Both Sakura and Hana were well aware that Kaze was far faster than Hana, should push come to shove, but Sakura knew the gesture reassured Hana, if nothing else.

"I will be quick." Kaze paused a moment as though to collect his thoughts, and then forged on. "I am aware that all of this is new to you, Lady Sakura. I know you are aware of the Nohrian court due to royal instruction, but as an insider, I thought I could offer some pieces of advice."

"Advice from a traitor?" Hana cut in sharply. Sakura, distracted, thought of her long-ago lessons on politics. The tutors had mostly skimmed the material with her - Nohr is the enemy, and they killed your father. There are four children, and here are their names. No one had expected her to have to deal with these politics alone - she was the youngest sister, a healer, and the weakest of her family line. Even her tutors had treated her so.

Kaze ducked his head. "If you choose not to take it, milady, it is your decision. But please know," and he raised his eyes to meet her own once again, "I am telling the truth."

"C-Continue," Sakura said, not trusting her voice with more than a whisper.

"I come to tell you that, in all honesty, milady, you have been very lucky. Lord Leo is, of all the royal siblings or advisors, the one most likely to lead Hoshido carefully. He will care for this place because it has been set in his care."

"Care for it?" Sakura repeated, almost silently. Kaze's eyes met hers, but Hana barely noticed, eyes still flashing furiously.

"He considered killing her," Hana said pointedly.

Kaze grimaced. "In his eyes, it was likely a viable option, yes. But I notice that you are still very much alive, milady, and I am very grateful for that. I am told you are given freedom here."

"Freedom? What is he, then?" Hana waved behind them to indicate the general direction of the Nohrian guard.

"A precaution, most likely," Kaze said, voice level. "As I said, I came to speak with Lord Leo. But he also took some time - and, milady, I should not say this, so please, do not take this lightly - he took time to ask me questions. About you."

"M-Me," Sakura repeated, already dizzy at the prospect.

"What did he ask?" Hana demanded, hand white-knuckled on her sword. 

"Likely what you would expect," Kaze said. "He asked about your ties to Hoshidan nobility, and about how likely I believed you would be to lead a revolt."

"Revolt?" Hana hissed. "That scum! He truly believes that?"

"I informed him I thought Lady Sakura would do no such thing," Kaze said emphatically. "Believe me, Lady Sakura, I told him in no uncertain terms that I believed he would do best to leave you alive and not otherwise impede you. That Hoshido would take that best."

Sakura looked at her hands, half-hidden by her sleeves. Again, people interfered for her. Again, she was the one to be protected, even by a man Hana (and the rest of Hoshido, she was sure) deemed a traitor. "I-I see."

Kaze paused again, clearing his throat. "What I know of Lord Leo, I will tell you. He is an apt strategist. Very intelligent. He is like as not to consider this a chess match; he considers every decision carefully. He is not one to hastily act, which, in your position, Lady Sakura, is beneficial." 

Sakura eyed the stitching on the backs of her sleeves, thoughts still resting upon her lessons. The school rooms had always been stifling in the summer, and even her thinnest summer kimono had been oppressive in the humidity. Nohr, with her tutor's talk of freezing winters and scarce harvests, had seemed so far away. Little wonder, then, she had absorbed so little of its history, of its royal family. It was like as not, if Kaze was telling the truth, that this man knew far more of her than she did of him.

"He also…" Kaze paused, bringing Sakura's eyes up to him once more. "I have no proof of this, but, milady, I believe that Nohr may truly mean to leave Hoshido mostly independent in return for supplies and goods."

"So, Hoshido is merely a factory for Nohr," Hana said scathingly. "Slaves to fulfill the labor they are too lazy to do on their own land."

"Hana, I have seen it," Kaze said softly. "People dying in the streets from hunger, impoverished. Miles of dead land, frosted over permanently. It's not a lie the Nohrians give so they can extract goods from Hoshido. It's the truth."

Sakura's mind suddenly filled with manufactured images of blackened earth, white skies. People, in Hoshidan clothing but upon Nohrian lands, weeping. Children starving. But Takumi had always said these things were Nohrian lies, had scorned them so instantaneously that Sakura had learned to follow his lead. 

"Milady, I believe he is rational enough that you could potentially negotiate with him," Kaze said. "You hold power over the people, still, and he values it."

Sakura's shoulders fell forward at that. She had never been the intelligent one of her family; her siblings had outpaced her in every exercise they ever did besides healing. "I - I have n-nothing. I - I can't n-negotiate w-with anyone. I'm j-just a p-pawn."

"I think, milady, you have more power than you know." Kaze's gaze on her was weighty. "Do not underestimate yourself."

Sakura shook her head silently, unable to think of what to say.

"Ultimately, milady, I believe he wants the goodwill of Hoshido." Kaze stood suddenly, and Hana stiffened again. "If you can convince him that what you want will also obtain the goodwill of Hoshido, I believe he will listen."

Sakura looked at the stack of books around them. What was the best for Hoshido anymore? She had not left the castle in weeks. If her people were starving on the streets, or living in luxury, or neither, she could not have known. She was not supposed to be negotiating with anymore. She was just a girl now. And she caught that thought in its tracks, knowing with sudden clarity that she had still referred to Hoshido as her people.

He nodded at her and turned; the sliding door opened silently. "I must go now. It has been long enough already." 

"Wh-Why have you said all this?" Sakura asked quietly, more to the floor than to Kaze's retreating back.

Kaze halted all the same. He turned, and Sakura met his eyes for the briefest of seconds. "It is because, Lady Sakura, I believe in you. And I believe Hoshido will be strengthened by your presence. My words are just that of a traitor, but… they are words of a traitor who believes in you."

Before his words had finished being processed in her mind, Kaze was gone in a slip of air, as suddenly as though someone had yanked him from his position in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make things clear, Sakura is not interested in Kaze anymore. He was her childhood first crush. (Is this canon or is this just a headcanon? I haven't played the game in so long, I can't remember.)
> 
> I know you came for the Leo/Sakura but... have patience. At this point it's more of a Flower Retainers/Sakura fic. But - patience. Thanks :)


	6. Chapter 6

"It's beautiful weather, milady." 

Subaki was right, Sakura thought. The air was crisp and clear, the last wisps of the morning's fog retreating as the sun grew brighter. He had coerced her (and their Nohrian guard, who this morning was thankfully silent and preferred not to meet her eyes) to go into the gardens. Subaki had claimed a cough that Sakura was beginning to realize had been entirely fabricated to force her outdoors to get him 'some fresh air.'

"Y-Yes." Sakura followed her retainer as he walked slowly through one of the courtyard's central paths. They were flanked by small bushes on their left and by beautiful rushing water on her right. Sakura had not heard the rhythmic noises of a of a stream in a while. It was painful to try to calculate how long it had been.

"It will do my lungs some good," Subaki said. 

Sakura let out a small huff of air. "I don't hear any build-up in your throat from your voice."

"Oh? You didn't hear me coughing all the way down here, milady?" His voice was laughing, and Sakura felt her mouth twitch upwards in the smallest of smiles at it.

"Ah, there it is, milady," Subaki said. She turned to look at him to see where he was gazing, but found his eyes resting on her. "That's a welcome expression."

Sakura flushed, looking quickly away. "I - I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Subaki's eyebrows raised. "For what?"

"I - I haven't…" Sakura fumbled with words, eyes resting on the thin leaves of the bushes beside her. 

"There's no need to apologize, milady," Subaki said, and though he smiled, his voice was serious. "Smile if you wish to, or not smile if you do not wish to."

"I - I should m-more often," she said softly. Her retainers needed it. Who else smiled for them? They too suffered - more than she did, Sakura thought. Who knew what they endured while playing guard among Nohrians? Hana had injured her arm the other day, but played it off as a strain from a spar with Subaki. But Subaki had never once injured Hana in sparring before.

"I will not deny, milady, that it would be a welcome sight," Subaki admitted, shielding his eyes briefly against the increasing sunlight. "However, what is more welcome is that you smiled willingly - a forced smile is not half so welcome."

Sakura walked forwards a few steps further in order to avoid the words, her face flushing. They did so much for her, the two of them. 

"And I can think of another who would find it equally welcome," Subaki said easily. "Shall we head over this direction, milady?"

She looked up to see Subaki motion to one of the bridges leading over the stream that ran through the garden. "Oh. Y-Yes."

"It's still fairly warm for the autumn," Subaki commented to the air in front of them. 

Sakura nodded. It was. "Yes."

"I'm sure it will get colder soon," he added, nodding in the general direction of Shirasagi Shrine, the sloping roof of it visible even over the castle walls. "They've been predicting storms, you know - the shrines have." 

"You can't be perfect if you only talk about the weather." 

Sakura looked up, surprised, and saw -

"Hana!" she said quickly, and glanced at Subaki, who was grinning, and back at Hana. "Wh-What are you-" 

"Doing here?" Hana waved them over quickly from a shaded enclosure blocked on three sides by huge trees. "Just come here, milady, I'll explain!"

Sakura noticed the protection afforded them by the trees and fought the urge to glance back at the Nohrian guard, who had been left to himself on the other side of the garden. "I - I didn't think you c-could both be here."

Hana quickly clasped Sakura's hands, grinning. "Oh, they can look the other way just once."

Sakura bit her lip. "Th-this c-could be dangerous."

"Milady," Subaki said, "I promise you, this is all a coincidence! Hana just happened to be in the area."

"Of course," Hana said promptly, "I was passing by on the way to the castle and had to ensure that my idiot fellow retainer was doing his job correctly."

"Oh, really now?" Subaki said, but he laughed. And Sakura looked between the two of them - her lovely retainers - and couldn’t help the smile from slowly rising on her face. 

"See it?" Subaki tilted his head at Sakura. 

"Yep," Hana said, and placed her hands on either side of Sakura's face. Sakura let out a small yelp of surprise, but Hana was grinning so widely it almost didn't matter. "That's something I haven't seen in a while."

Sakura flushed. "That's…"

"Maybe we should walk in the gardens more," Hana said, releasing Sakura's face, but blessedly changing the topic. She glanced around the area. "I rarely see Nohrians here, anyways."

"They don't respect the beauty of them," Subaki said, reaching out to pick out one of the deep red leaves from the tree above them. "Too used to their blackened fields, most likely."

Hana huffed out a breath. "If they can't recognize their beauty, at least we still can."

Sakura looked at the carefully trimmed brush around them, the elaborately placed assortment of flower and bush and tree, of stone and bridge and lantern. It was carefully done, some ancient Hoshidan king's heritage. Was it true that the Nohrians could not see them as beautiful?

Subaki, who had been twirling the leaf between his fingers, suddenly held it out to Sakura in an exaggerated bow. Sakura blinked, forced from her thoughts. "A gift for milady."

"Oh, please." Hana rolled her eyes. "She's a princess and you're giving her a leaf?" 

Sakura giggled despite herself, and took the leaf with both hands, bowing slightly as well. "Th-Thank you." 

Subaki straightened and raised an eyebrow at Hana. "You say that, but I know you're just jealous you're not getting one as well." 

"Excuse me!" Hana protested indignantly. "As if I'd want a gift from you!"

Sakura held the leaf up to her mouth to hide her widening grin. 

"Ah, Hana," Subaki said knowingly. "One day, you'll admit it to yourself."

"Admit what?" Hana's sudden fisted hands dared him to continue. Sakura looked between them, breath suddenly catching in her throat.

"Hm." Subaki tossed his head slightly so that his hair rippled and caught the light in the breeze like embers. His smile was teasing. "I wonder."

"I wouldn't be caught dead wanting any gift from you," Hana said emphatically, but Sakura looked at her best friend and saw the slightest flush in her cheeks, and began to wonder as well.

The pause in the conversation ran a touch too long for comfort. Hana was growing only redder, and began to fiddle with the hilt of her sword as though trying to remind herself of its presence. Sakura thought about her retainers in silence, about the things she know found herself not knowing about them - when she had earlier thought she had known everything about them it was possible to know. Even so, something had changed, after the war - 

"Hana told me that you two heard from Kaze the other day," Subaki said, voice suddenly serious again.

"Y-Yes." Sakura looked at the leaf in her hands. It was shockingly red - a rich auburn, like clotted blood. Saizo's hair came to mind, along with Kaze's face as he had spoken to her, his new scar trailing a thin line below his eye.

"He found me as well." Sakura looked up to see Subaki shifting as he spoke, the only indication he was slightly uncomfortable. "Said he had assumed I would be with you."

Sakura fiddled with the leaf's stem. Hana wasn't asking any questions; Sakura wondered if her retainers had been keeping each other in confidence without her - another thing she hadn't known about. "Wh-What did he say?"

"From what Hana said, about the same things as you heard from him," Subaki said. He looked at her. "He… He had some interestingly positive things to say about the prince."

"As if there's any way we could believe him!" Hana interjected suddenly. "I bet you anything the prince just sent him to say those things."

"I don't think so," Subaki said, shaking his head. "Kaze isn't the type."

"We didn't think he was the type to turn traitor, either," Hana said darkly. Sakura bit her lip.

"No, but…" Subaki flicked his ponytail over his shoulder. "I can read him. We sparred together sometimes. He wasn't hiding anything when he spoke."

"S-So you believe him," Sakura said quietly. 

Subaki glanced over. "I believe that's what Kaze believes."

"But we can't believe everything Kaze believes," Hana added. "We're not forgetting he turned traitor, are we?"

"No," Subaki said. "He's not entirely trustworthy. But hearing his thoughts was useful."

"Entirely trustworthy?" Hana repeated. "He's not trustworthy at all!"

"We've been over this," Subaki said. "I think he has a point in some way."

"In wh-what way?" Sakura asked. Her retainers finally both turned back to her.

"You're in more of a position to negotiate with him than you think you are," Subaki said. "I've interacted with the Hoshidan troops that are still around, milady, and they're all so supportive of you."

Sakura fiddled with her leaf. "That's…" 

"Entirely true," Subaki said. "And the prince will know it."

"H-He…" Sakura swallowed. "I-I don't kn-know if he'd listen to me."

"He has to," Subaki said simply. "You're the hope of Hoshido. If anything happened to you, the people would all revolt."

"I-If that's true, then th-that's exactly why I can't do anything," Sakura said, fears suddenly all too loud in her ears, thoughts of bloody swords in Nohrian hands all too real, "If they revolt, they'll all… they'll all…"

"Be happy to do whatever it takes to show Nohr that Hoshido is not cowed yet by them," Subaki said, with a heavy finality that made Sakura look up in surprise. "Milady, believe me when I say that they are stronger than you think - and they care so deeply for you." 

"Everyone loves you," Hana said suddenly. Sakura flushed at the warmth in her words.

"And we do, as well, of course," Subaki said, his eyes crinkling into a smile. 

"More than any of them ever could," Hana said, not to be outdone.

There was a sudden rustle behind her, and Subaki and Hana both froze in place.

"Aha. And what do we have here, now?" The voice was purring, and Sakura swore she felt every hair on her body raise in sudden horror. She recognized that voice, and by the sudden tension she saw in her retainers' arms, they did as well.

"Niles," Subaki said levelly. Hana moved quickly between Sakura and the retainer, and Sakura turned to see the white-haired man smile mockingly at her. And behind him -

"Good day, Lady Sakura." The prince. He scanned the trio quickly, and Sakura was reminded once again of Kaze's words - a calculator, a strategist. Unbidden, she heard words that must have been Takumi's, referring to someone else, but so real it was as though his ghost spoke in her ear - "a scheming little bastard."

"Milord," Niles drew out the word slowly, grin growing toothy at Hana's hand's slow movement to her side where her sword was. "What an interesting group we've found."

"Hm." The blond folded his arms. Sakura noticed suddenly that he was still wearing the black circlet around his head instead of her family's crown. "I suppose this explains the guard alone over there."

"I suppose we'll have to punish them," Niles said smoothly, "for disobeying orders."

"There were no explicit orders given, as far as I am aware," Subaki said, his voice as calm as it had been their earlier conversation. 

"As far as I am aware, milord said only one of you could be with her at a time," Niles said, voice as calm as Subaki's, but with an inflection that made it seem like the imitation was to mock. "And, as milord has said, there is only one punishment for treason."

"D-Don't blame them," Sakura said suddenly, hands trembling. The group all turned to look at her at once, and she fought the wave of panic. "Th-They were only d-doing what I asked."

"You arranged this meeting?" The prince asked, eyebrows raising fractionally.

"Y-Yes." Sakura's shoulders shook slightly, but she stood her ground. These were her retainers. She would defend them.

"Milady!" Subaki and Hana spoke with one horrified voice, and then split off into two differing versions of the same words ("Do not listen to her, we arranged this -" "It's not her fault, it's ours -"). 

"For what purpose?" The man folded his arms. 

Sakura drew in a breath, and then surprised herself with the truth of her words. "B-Because I - Because I m-missed them." Her voice cracked halfway through, and she fought the burn of sudden tears along the back of her throat and her eyelids.

Whatever the prince had expected, it had not been this. He paused, momentarily off balance, and Sakura recognized, even through her now-blurry vision - or thought she did, in the briefest of instants - a softening of his features. "I… see."

"Lord Leo," Subaki suddenly cut in, and Sakura jolted slightly to hear the formal term on his lips as a plea, "Please, believe me. She did not do this - we did. She would not dream of breaking any rule, real or imagined."

"It's true," Hana said immediately, "And also - it's not against any orders. You never said we couldn't all three be together, only that one of us could guard her with a Nohrian."

"Twisting Lord Leo's words?" Niles asked, smiling cruelly. 

"She is correct, however," the prince said. Sakura looked up to see him nodding slowly. "I did not forbid them to be together at a time."

"It was implied, milord," Niles said. 

"Perhaps, but…" Leo made a noise at the back of the throat that could have been a snort. "I of all people should know the importance of careful wording."

"I-If you are going to do anything," Sakura raised her voice, thinking again of Hana's injured arm, of the wounds she was sure Subaki had hidden from her, "I w-will not allow you t-to hurt my retainers. Y-You'll punish me i-instead."

"Will not allow?" Niles repeated slowly, snidely. 

The prince ignored him, staring instead at Sakura. Sakura met his gaze, trying not to let her lips tremble, thinking of Kaze's words. You can reason with him, he had said. She could do this. She had to - it was for Subaki and Hana. The outraged cries of her retainers from behind her were ignored.

"And the Nohrian guard?" the prince asked, apparently also choosing to pretend her retainers had not once again attempted to interrupt.

Sakura paused, not having expected the question. She glanced over at the black-armored figure, who was still fiddling with his sword somewhere to their right. His negligence had allowed her to meet with her retainers. (But he was Nohrian after all, Takumi's voice whispered, and meant nothing.) She shook her head as though she could dislodge her thoughts as easily. 

Something in his posture was like Hinata's, something in the way he rolled his shoulders, the way he was still somehow ignorant of this situation. "H-Him t-too. He - He didn't know. It's n-not his f-fault."

"Milady," Subaki said softly behind them, at the same time that Hana burst out, "You can't! If you touch her, I swear, I die as well!"

The prince held up his hand at them both and, mercifully, they fell silent. Sakura fought the shuddering tremble of her fingertips. "Why do you intercede for them?"

"I-It's not their fault," Sakura said quietly. "I-I am the one th-they did this for."

He nodded slowly. "I see." 

"Milord," Niles said, mouth suddenly curving into a grin, "Any good retainer deserves twice a beating for letting their mistress intervene on their behalf…"

The prince let out a breath in what was either annoyance or amusement - Sakura couldn't tell. Somehow, this quiet acquiescence at the potential punishment of her retainers pushed her resolution into anger.

"A-And," Sakura said, suddenly driven onwards, hands fisting at her sides, Kaze's words somehow echoing in her ears, "A-And, because if there w-was a rule, it was a r-ridiculous one. My r-retainers are both permitted to s-speak with me according to your own r-rules, and th-they are permitted to s-speak with each other. S-So it doesn't make sense to prevent them f-from speaking with me t-together. Th-There's no l-logic in that." 

The prince paused, eyes widening. The shocked intake of breath from her retainers also surprised her, but Sakura was trembling with anger now; as one so unused to feelings of rage, there was no practiced way for her to stem their flow. She shut her mouth, but she could still feel her cheeks flushing the same color as her hair. 

"You are angry," the prince observed. Although his voice was absent of surprise, she could see it in the way his eyebrows remained a fraction higher than normal.

Sakura did not respond, not trusting herself to open her mouth. 

"Of course she is angry," Hana said suddenly, stepping forwards, "when you keep her locked up in the castle like a prisoner!"

"She is a prisoner - of war," Niles responded. Hana opened her mouth and was cut off.

"Again, however," Leo said as though neither retainer had spoken, "your logic is sound." He nodded slowly, as though at some suggestion no one could hear but himself. "Be that as it may, I will allow it."

Sakura's anger was swept away by surprise at the prince's sudden change of heart. She stared at him, but he merely looked back at her, his face impossible to read. Sakura realized how dry her throat was, how quickly her pulse was still racing, at her sudden confrontation.

"And to guard her together?" Subaki asked. 

The prince paused for a moment and surveyed the trio. "I suppose it would be difficult for two soldiers to overrun an entire castle of Nohrian soldiers, wouldn't it?"

"I could certainly think of all the delicious ways they'd die." Niles's smile made Sakura's stomach churn. 

"If we did so, at least we would die with honor." Subaki pronounced the words as though they were a lance he could thrust in Niles's chest. Honor. Sakura could almost feel the word thrum in her chest, and it calmed her pulse somehow.

"Now, Lady Sakura." The prince folded his arms, still intent on mostly ignoring the retainers. "While I have you in a talking mood, why don't you explain to me why you've been holing yourself up in your room? I do believe I made it clear you are free to roam the castle."

Sakura blinked at him. He made no indication that he found his own question strange, but merely raised an eyebrow at her. Sakura swallowed. Did he mean to forcibly drag her out of her rooms to parade her around in front of the nobles? She thought about her words for a second, tried to straighten them out into something coherent. "B-Being free to roam the c-castle still m-means I'm free to s-stay in one place."

"I see." The prince eyed her a second more and then turned suddenly away, waving his hand at the Nohrian who had been her second guard. "Niles. Go dismiss our soldier."

"Of course, milord."

"Make sure he trains harder tonight." Leo's voice had grown colder again. "If he can't keep track of two people, I don't have time to waste on him."

"Of course, milord." Niles's tone as he walked away was poisonous. Sakura fought the urge to shudder.

"One last thing, Lady Sakura," the prince said, turning back to face her. Sakura stiffened. "I heard some very complimentary things about you from a certain former Hoshidan ninja recently."

Sakura tried her best not to move a muscle, some long-ago lesson about facing snakes or wolves coming to mind. It wasn't as though her meeting with Kaze was her doing - or that it had been a secret - but it felt clandestine somehow, and she feared the prince knowing about it.

"It would be remiss to leave such words unacknowledged, and I assure you again that I do not intend to punish you, as I have stated previously. Thus, I will allow you to roam the castle without a guard, should you wish it." The prince nodded once at her. "You have no need to fear the guards - I have informed them of the new orders, and they are not to harm you - and, I will remind you, not to follow the orders would be treason, so they will listen. However, any meetings between you and political leaders in Hoshido are still out of the question."

He paused, as though to allow her to answer, or perhaps to thank him. Sakura waited as long as she possibly could, unwilling to respond, until the silence dragged on long enough to force her into speech. "I-I see." 

The prince nodded slowly, his lips curving in to the barest of smiles. "Very well. Good day then, Lady Sakura."

"Good day." Sakura forced herself into a regal, yet informal, bow in his direction. He nodded coolly back at her, and turned, beginning to walk away.

The three of them waited until he was far enough away to be just out of earshot. And then Subaki forcibly pulled Sakura around to face him. His expression was just short of absolutely horrified. "Lady Sakura!" 

"What!" Sakura drew in a sharp breath, equally horrified at his horror. 

"Never - never - never do that again." Subaki shut his eyes. "I - Milady, as your retainers, we exist to protect you. Please don't ever offer yourself in our place."

"It was all a negotiation, wasn't it?" Hana's voice, far from the anger Sakura was expecting, was contemplative. Sakura looked at her; Hana was worrying at her lip with her teeth. "You believed what Kaze said."

"Of course it was a negotiation!" Subaki was still furious. For a brief second, Sakura thought she might laugh - her retainers' roles, and their typical standpoints on her behavior, were oddly reversed. "But you should never offer yourself to be punished in our stead."

"Of course not!" Hana agreed immediately. She suddenly looked at Sakura. "But you knew he wouldn't dare trying to harm you, didn’t you? That's why you could say that."

Sakura didn't open her mouth, knowing she could not lie to her oldest friend. 

Hana's relatively peaceful expression grew gradually stormier as Sakura remained silent. "Didn't you?"

Subaki passed a hand over his eyes. "Gods. Please never do that again. I would fall on my lance before I let that happen. For all that scum Niles says, he is right in one sense - a retainer who cannot protect his lady is worthless."

"Y-You can protect me, and you h-have," Sakura said immediately. She would finally make them understand. She had relied on them for so long, and now she could offer something in return. "A-And n-now it's my turn." 

"It will never be your turn!" Hana had been set off by this sudden revelation. Sakura braced herself for a rant. As Hana began to yell about Sakura's misbehavior, and what if the prince really had gone through with it, and wouldn't Sakura think about herself for once, Subaki caught her eye.

"Lady Sakura," Subaki said, as though Hana wasn't currently yelling at her, "regardless of what the prince may say, I don't think you should go around the castle alone. The guards may be on pain of death, but aren't they always for one reason or another in Nohr?"

Sakura fought the urge to look in the direction of the prince's white-haired retainer to ensure the guard was not being beaten into the ground, though she could hear nothing from that part of the garden.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone for a second," Hana said immediately, apparently having been listening, "if only to make sure you never pull something like that, ever again."

Sakura fought the small grin, that, despite all other things, still threatened to spread across her face. "Th-That's okay with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might have been a little hurried at the end there, but I thought you'd waited long enough for an update :) I'm hopeful the next one will be out more efficiently, as I already have a decent start on it.


	7. Chapter 7

"Lord Leo requests your presence." Sakura looked up from the book she had been holding. Niles, face dark, stood in her doorway. The guard that normally stood outside was grasping his lance, white-knuckled at the sight of the retainer's face. Subaki stood slightly behind him, his face unreadable. "Immediately."

Sakura swallowed. 

The walk to the room the prince had apparently marked out as his office was far too short, and mostly spent frantically cataloging actions, words, and conversations she had had. Nothing. Nothing worth anyone's attention. She hadn't so much as spoken to a member of nobility, mostly due to their apparent shortage in the castle ever since the Nohrians had taken over. She hadn't said anything to Hana or Subaki that was any different than what she had said in the past. 

True to their word, her retainers had never let her walk around the castle alone, and she had never encountered any trouble when she had made a series of brief walks around the castle - merely bustling activity. The servants still performed all the same tasks they had done when her family had ruled, and this incongruity had shocked Sakura into remaining in her room the last two days, somehow surprised that the world was still the same though her family was gone. 

Subaki strode at her side, face as clouded as Niles's own. He kept looking at her in a manner Sakura knew should reassure her, but was only serving to make her more nervous, as Subaki himself thought she needed to be reassured. Hana was noticeably absent, having briefly gone to relieve herself. Sakura worried at what Hana's reaction might be at their disappearance when she returned to her room.

"Milord," Niles said sharply, before opening the door. Sakura winced despite herself at the creak the wood gave. Apparently the Nohrian was still unused to sliding screen doors open - one should be gentle. But Niles wasn't quite one to be gentle. Sakura had become aware of this.

She looked at the prince through the doorway. He was agitated; his cheeks were in high color, and he was moving jerkily, as though distracted. 

"Lady Sakura," he said immediately. His eyes barely rested on her for a second before he turned back to the papers on his desk, and then to the wall to her left. 

"G-Good day," Sakura said softly, stepping in the room at Niles's insistent jerk of the chin. The prince folded his arms and began to speak as though she had not said anything.

"I have just received word from a messenger minutes ago," the prince said. Sakura felt her pulse begin to rise. Subaki took a step closer to her. 

"A large convoy of Nohrian soldiers were attacked by a series of rebels on their way from Krakenburg to the Shirasagi castle." Leo paced back and forth as he spoke behind his desk, hands folded behind his back. "They are severely wounded."

Sakura drew in a soft breath. He wasn't going to punish her for the rebellion, was he? There was no point in doing so. The rebels were unknown to her, and their cause appeared less attached to the Hoshidan royal family than to the expulsion of the Nohrians. Still. It would not be the first time she had seen a Nohrian punish a scapegoat in place of the real threat.

"I am aware you are a healer." His voice jolted her back to the present situation; he had stopped walking back and forth, and was now facing the plains of Hoshido outside his - Sakura amended her thoughts - the window. "I have been told, furthermore, that you are a rather excellent one."

Sakura nodded mutely, aware as she did so that he could not see her from his position. Leo didn't turn around, but he apparently took her silence as a yes. "I have asked you to come see me so I could make a request from you. I am aware I am in no position to ask favors from you, but we are in need of a healer."

Sakura froze. A healer? For the Nohrians? Leo's gaze was still apparently fixed on the blue sky above them, and the plains below. "I am asking you to help heal them, if you will."

"Wh-Why do you ask?" Sakura said, voice barely above a whisper. "Y-You could just f-force me."

"I am asking because I want to ask." Leo turned to look at her from the window. He was silhouetted by the curve of green hills and towns that dotted her country. "I prefer to ask."

Sakura stared at him wordlessly.

"We do not have enough healers," Leo said, eyes on her directly. "If you do not help out - "

"She is under no obligation," Subaki said firmly, voice cutting over that of the prince, "to help you. Healing does not work properly if you do it half-heartedly."

"Do you forget your place?" Niles narrowed his eyes at Subaki, and Sakura braced herself again for the repeated conversation (her retainers forget to say 'milord,' and Niles's hackles raise, and they argue, and then their rulers cut them off). 

"Leave it, Niles." The prince was having none of it today. "I am telling you, Lady Sakura, that if you do not help out these men will die."

Sakura shut her eyes. Black-armored soldiers. The self-same whose weapons had gleamed and flickered in the light of the dying day at Fort Jinya. The Nohrians she had grown over her life to hate. 

"Please." The word on the prince's lips, so strange in his voice, made her eyes open. He looked at her. "They are people as well, you know. I am aware that many here consider us Nohrians monsters, but I assure you they breathe the same air in the same way as you do."

"If they are called monsters it is only because of their apparent lack of conscience," Subaki corrected him promptly. "Milord."

"Will you help them?" His eyes were still upon hers. They were darker than she had expected. She had thought all Nohrian eyes were light, pale blue so as to seem almost colorless. "Will you help me?"

"I… I will help them," Sakura said, words slow to come to her. She steadied her gaze on the prince, braced herself for the words. "But I help th-them only. N-Not you."

From across the room, she could see Niles's expression darken. However, the prince smiled slightly - a smile that was slightly lopsided. A smile that had been expecting this answer, perhaps. "I see."

"To serve a soldier is to serve Lord Leo," Niles said sharply. 

"If she sees a distinction in it, Niles, you can't argue," the prince said. He looked at her again; Sakura fought the urge to step slightly closer to Subaki. "The soldiers will be arriving in less than an hour. I am placing them in one of the halls close to the entrance. I trust you can find your way there in time."

"What if she kills them all, milord?" Niles asked, gaze slipping over to Sakura. "You can't trust a Hoshidan."

"Speak about Lady Sakura like that again and I will be forced to take action," Subaki said flatly.

Sakura flinched at Niles's gaze, but avoided looking at him. "I w-will require a h-healing rod."

"She doesn't bother to deny the claim," Niles muttered from across the room.

"I think, Niles, that she is merely ignoring you and your ludicrous claim," the prince said. He raised his eyebrows at his retainer. "You are, after all, interrupting the conversation."

This, apparently, finally caused the retainer to shut his mouth. Leo looked back at her. "As for your staff, I will supply as many as you need, along with any other materials you deem necessary."

"A-A Hoshidan rod is b-better," Sakura said. She had never touched a Nohrian staff before, only seen them from a distance. Nohrian rods were thin and seemed more like clubs than the holy rods she had used. She had not been surprised to note that even Nohrian healing tools seemed cruel, more like weapons than medicinal in purpose.

The prince paused, but nodded slowly. "I see. What else?"

Sakura recalled the lists of supplies she had used while treating the wounded over the war. "I-I will n-need vulneraries, elixirs, bandages, slings, ice, a steady supply of hot water -"

"Not all at once, now," Niles said snidely.

Sakura faltered, thrown off balance. "U-Um." 

"Niles, you've gotten just as bad as Odin," Leo said, eyes narrowing. "When I ask for you, I'm not expecting a monologue."

"When you asked for her, milord, did you expect a monologue?" The retainer suddenly grinned, all teeth. "And here I was, thinking you preferred them quiet and helpless."

Sakura fought the urge to utter a horrified squeak, but was immediately distracted by Subaki's sudden movement, by the tear of rice paper as he threw Niles to the ground through one of the doors. This time she did squeak, though in a different kind of horror. Niles, for his part, didn't make a noise, even though Subaki's lance blade rested only centimeters from his throat. And then Subaki's arm moved slightly - deliberately - and a thin line of blood traced itself along Niles's throat

"Speak like that about Lady Sakura again, and this blade will be the last thing you feel," Subaki said, and Sakura barely recognized the voice, so cold and sharp, as the same one that kindly titled her 'milady.' 

Niles grinned, and Sakura flinched at his odd detachment from the situation. "I thought retainer and liege relationships were prohibited, but perhaps I did insult your mistress in more ways than one. That move did seem rather practiced - do you tackle her like this too?"

Sakura covered her face with a hand, mortified, even though she knew doing so was probably causing them to think it was true - and, gods, no, never, and she raised her other hand up to fully block her face from view. She heard Subaki's voice, surprisingly level despite the circumstances. "I wonder, Lord Leo, if you can control your retainer?"

"Niles, this is your final warning." The prince's voice had gone frigid, and the room suddenly seemed airless, constrictive. "I will let him kill you if you continue. Do you not understand it when I say some respect is due?"

A pause. Sakura lowered her hands, worried what she might see. The scene had not changed, but Niles was no longer smiling. "I understand, milord." 

Subaki stayed in place only a second more before gracefully standing and returning his lance to his side, backing up a pace or two so he was directly between Niles and Sakura.

"I apologize on behalf of my retainer." The prince looked directly at Sakura, and then, she noted, at Subaki as well. "It will not happen again."

"I hope not." Subaki's voice was level, still, but the tension in his posture was not gone.

Sakura nodded wordlessly. Hinoka would have threatened Niles herself, perhaps; Takumi certainly would have. No one would have dared speak to Ryoma in that way. She could not even imagine him reacting to such a situation. And she could not even open her mouth.

"Lady Sakura, I will have the supplies you requested waiting for you in the front halls." The prince inclined his head at her. "If you desire to prepare yourself, now is the time."

"Y-Yes." Sakura forced herself to speak. 

Leo turned back to his desk, picked up a paper - a letter, and Sakura could see the Nohrian insignia on it, deep purple and sickly in the daylight - and began to ignore her.

Sakura thought of Hinoka's straight back, of her family's unwavering pride. "A-And," she said, voice barely a whisper. 

The prince didn't look up. She audibly cleared her throat, and dark eyes suddenly met hers. Sakura swallowed, began again. "A-And P-Prince Leo, I expect y-your retainer to - to act his st-station next t-time."

The dark eyes widened. Sakura could feel more than see Subaki swell with pride; he had known how much these words cost her. 

"Of course." Leo made a shallow bow, his spine barely at an angle, but enough to spark some pride in Sakura herself. "I will make sure of it."

"Th-Then I will t-take my leave." Sakura stole the words from her elder brother's favorite dismissal from councils. Leave on your own terms, he had told her, and no one can stop you.

"Of course." The prince's mouth shaped itself into something almost a smile. When Sakura turned to leave, she made sure to push the sliding door carefully so that the wood did not make a sound. 

They were halfway down the hallway when Subaki stopped her. "Milady, allow me to apologize."

"N-No," Sakura said immediately, already certain where this was going. "I-I w-would never blame you and you sh-shouldn't blame yourself."

"If I was only a better retainer," Subaki began, raising his eyes to the painted wood ceiling, "he never would have dared -"

"Don't!" Sakura said loudly. Subaki paused, surprised. "D-Don't."

"Milady." Subaki dropped his gaze to her.

"P-Please, don't th-think anything he does is y-your fault." Sakura wrapped her arms around her torso, could feel her rib bones rise and constrict as she breathed. "I… I w-worry about you. D-Don't put yourself in d-danger like th-that again."

"He could not be allowed to say anything like that, milady." Subaki's grip tightened on his lance. "It is absolutely unforgivable, and the prince must know it. I refuse to stand by silently any longer."

Sakura shut her eyes. Of course Subaki had only meant well. But. "I - I couldn't s-stand to lose y-you."

"Milady." Even though her eyes were closed, she could hear the warmth of affection coloring his voice. A weight on her head - his hand -made her open her eyes to see him smiling wryly at her. "I don't deserve your worry."

"O-Of course -" Sakura began.

"But Lady Sakura," Subaki cut her off, and Sakura stopped short, having almost no recollection of him interrupting her previously, "I doubt the prince would kill me for such an action. If I died, people would know it was because you were threatened, and whatever mutiny the prince is dealing with now would grow threefold."

Sakura bit her lip. "B-But…"

Subaki let her trail off, and they stood in silence for what was only a second or two, but felt to Sakura like a lot longer. She folded her arms tighter around herself at the recollection of Niles's cutting words, the cut on his throat. 

"And he will be fine, milady." The accuracy of Subaki's interpretation of her worry made her jump. "I'm the perfect pegasi knight, remember? I know how to cut so it will only scar, not damage."

Sakura sighed, thoughts of wounds bringing her to the task at hand. "W-We sh-should prepare."

"Yes." Subaki said. "And I believe we have a female samurai to calm down from the brink of seppuku."

"Oh, g-gods," Sakura said worriedly, already knowing where Hana's mind must have jumped when she had returned to their room to find Sakura gone.

****

* * *

"Gods." Leo paced around his office for what felt like the seventeenth time that morning. "Why did he send one without my permission?"

"I don't know, milord." Niles's voice was flat. Leo glanced at him. Niles hadn't bothered to do anything to the nick on his throat, and a small line of dark blood rested there. It was eerie, but Niles had made a habit of appearing eerie in all situations.

Leo took up the letter once again and began to quote at his retainer. "Have been hearing of Hoshidan issues, will be sending convoy if you find necessary, send response as soon as possible, etcetera, etcetera." 

He stared again at his brother's script. "Hoshidan issues. What issues does he mean? And why didn't he wait to hear if I found it necessary?" 

"The rebel preparations must have occurred close to the border, milord." Niles raised one shoulder in a half-shrug. "Maybe Lord Xander heard of it before we did."

Leo shook his head mutely. The attack, and its planning, had been entirely a surprise within Hoshido, and presumably had been executed entirely within its borders. His family, holed up in Castle Krakenburg, deep in the country of Nohr and surrounded by desolate wastelands, were only less likely to have heard about it than he. 

Besides, he had already done the calculation. Letters to and from Krakenburg and Shirasagi took about four days by wyvern. This letter had arrived two days ago, so his brother had sent it about six days ago, give or take some time depending on whatever winds the wyvern and rider in question had faced. The messenger who had told of the attacked convoy had been on wyvern, so he could have crossed the distance from the convoy to Shirasagi in a day or so. The convoy had only needed about two days to get to the position in which they were attacked, given Leo's knowledge of travel between the two countries. Therefore, some time between the day his brother had sent the letter and three days ago, a period of three days, his brother had ordered more troops into Shirasagi without his permission. But why?

"Are you sure it was the same convoy, milord?"

"Of course," Leo snapped, pulled from his thoughts. "I didn't request one, and only Xander and father have the power to do so. Camilla might have the power but she never would have bothered." 

"More soldiers might not be a bad thing, milord." Niles grinned. It was the first real expression Leo had seen on Niles's face since he had let the former princess' retainer slip his lance across Niles's throat.

"Hoshido is a delicate situation," Leo said shortly. "Now is not the time to be tightening an iron fist. If we want their cooperation without further bloodshed, a sudden display of war power will only tip the balance towards further fighting."

"Milord!" Odin's voice suddenly echoed from the hallway in front of them. The sliding door opened with a bang. "Milord, the soldiers - dear gods! Niles, what dark powers have you sold yourself to now to be raised from the dead?"

"I already sold myself to all of them," Niles said smoothly, fingering the small cut on his neck, "so they paid their debts today."

Leo rolled his neck to try to alleviate the oncoming headache he already knew was coming. "Odin, focus. What were you here to say?"

"Ah yes - the soliders, milord." Odin nodded. "They've arrived."


	8. Chapter 8

Shouting had filled the halls seconds before the doors had burst open, revealing a full wyvern in its horrifying pitch-black glory. Sakura had shrieked involuntarily, dropping her rod as its wings unfurled, spiny and webbed like a bat's. It crumpled to the ground, heaving, to reveal its rider. A Nohrian. Something had crushed his leg and it was bleeding onto the Wyvern's flanks, already beginning to drip onto the tatami mats below him. The man was clearly unconscious. 

"Healers!" The shouts were getting clearer now. Subaki placed a hand on her shoulder and Hana curled and uncurled her fingers into fists before her. One of the troop of shrine maidens that were hesitantly standing behind Sakura stepped forward slightly but paused at Sakura's waxen face. 

Another figure burst through the door, his heavily-armored horse leaping cleanly over the wyvern's leg that was partially blocking the entrance. A dark knight, with helmet still on. A different soldier clung around the rider's waist, this one clearly some sort of foot soldier, with a slash across his abdomen that was dyeing his forefront the same color as his red scarf.

"Healers, quickly!" It was a woman behind the dark knight mask. Sakura was registering the scene, but in a sort of blur. She recognized the call for help as what it was - desperate, pleading, and not altogether confident that it would receive a response, despite the prevalence of Hoshidan-trained healers.

The weight of gazes at her back was heavy, and all of the sudden the stream of black-armored soldiers was less pressing than the stares of her fellow shrine maidens. They were waiting for her to act. Black armor was perhaps no different than white and red, and she needed to show them. Sakura took in a breath and stooped to pick up her fallen rod. 

"Q-Quickly, everyone," she said, and though her voice was thin, she was surprised by how loud she had spoken. "W-We must help."

"Hoshidans," someone said lowly from across the room, and Sakura stiffened even though the word was so quiet. Memories from the war flooded back. Pain, the dying cries of her soldiers. The prayers to the Dawn Dragon that never seemed to be answered. Mercy, she had cried to Her for years. Mercy for this soldier, mercy for my weary soul, mercy for strength to go on. 

Sakura shut her eyes and prayed, mouth unmoving. Dawn Dragon, if you can hear me, these children are also your own. Just as you promise us mercy, as your vessel I must also promise them your mercy. Please assist us in doing so, and guide us in your ways to heal our enemies. Sakura let out a deep breath, opened her eyes. Hana, who still was slightly in front of her, nodded, mouth in a thin line. 

Sakura turned to face the shrine maidens. They all started, as though something in her face was shocking. Sakura ignored it, mind suddenly back in the camps of Hoshido, between fights, when she had directed all their healers in a personal war of her own, one fighting against death and illness. "If t-two of you would go to th-the front and m-move the w-wyvern and then d-direct people in to the f-futons, and then t-two of you p-please keep the s-supplies and get things f-for others, and then the rest of us just spread out and h-heal anyone who needs h-help, I think th-that would be best. And Hana, if you could s-stay and guard the supplies, I think that m-might be best."

"Yes, milady," the one closest to Sakura responded immediately, and then, as one, they bowed. Sakura made a quick bow in response, and hurried over to the far right, where the dark knight had dismounted and was assisting her companion onto one of the futons.

"I am a healer," Sakura said by way of introduction, "W-Will you allow me to assist you?"

The woman turned away from her task of holding her companion upright to look back at her. Sakura struggled to remember there was a human behind the mask; the mask itself was terrifying, and even in the bright room it hid her eyes so Sakura had to stare into black shapes instead of a face. "So they send Hoshidans both to kill us and to heal us?"

Sakura paused. Apologies, perhaps, would be contrived, and would make her seem complicit in the attack. But a blatant denial was also perhaps incorrect. 

She must have paused for a second too long, for the woman instead snorted and tossed her metal helmet off, revealing long, stringy blonde hair. Her eyes rested on Subaki for a second in evaluation, and then she narrowed her eyes at Sakura. "Don't just stand around. Just know that if you harm him, I have my axe on me and it's already tasted the blood of Hoshidans today."

Sakura winced, ignoring the sting of the woman's disdain and words as best as she could, a task improved only by the foot soldier's sudden groan of pain as he hauled himself onto the futon. The noise, more than his appearance, eased her horror. She made a shallow bow, reminding herself that all injured deserved respect and care. "I-I am h-here to help. Please allow me to h-heal you."

"My stomach," the man said weakly. The wound was gaping, flesh glistening between his torn shirt, and a slick of dark blood rose to stain his clothing each time he took in a thin breath. 

Sakura nodded. "Y-Yes. W-What was it?"

"Your… people." The man raised his eyes upwards, opened his mouth, and choked on whatever he had been trying to say, coughing spittle streaked with blood onto his face and neck. Her people. Sakura shut her eyes, feeling the paper shide on her rod brush her hands as her hands shook. It had been years since she had seen her first patient die in her care, but each soldier was never easier. The different set of his face, the different lilt of an accent on his lips - but he was still a man.

"I - I'll heal you n-now." Sakura raised her rod, focused, eyes still closed as she felt the Dawn Dragon's power beneath her. "P-Please," she whispered. A familiar warmth gathered in her chest and eyes, and though she had closed her eyes, she could see the flash of light from her rod that accompanied the sudden weight on her chest of the spell's release, the sudden shortness of breath. 

Sakura bent over the man, watching the wound knit itself slowly together again in front of her until it was mostly closed. "I - I will need to do this once more," she said to the man. He coughed in response, but nodded. Sakura prepared the spell once again, and watched the wound slip back together, forming a scarred line streaked with dried blood. The man moaned wordlessly as it did so, but he hunched forwards as soon as the spell was complete, wiping his mouth. 

When he reached to trace the scar, Sakura's hand touched his as a warning. "N-Not y-yet. Let it h-heal by itself a little bit m-more."

"You can let go of your axe now," Subaki said shortly behind her. Sakura looked back to see the dragon knight slowly release her grip on the weapon strapped to her back. Subaki folded his arms. "And fear not - no Nohrian will be harmed. The princess of Hoshido is far kinder than your people."

"I thought it was ruled by our prince, now." The woman's words had less bite to them, though, and by Subaki's small smirk, he could tell as well. Sakura stood, bowed formally to the woman and to the man.

"K-Keep him s-still for a while longer, but he should be able to s-stand in about an h-hour or so by himself," Sakura addressed the woman. 

"Sure." The woman was no longer quite meeting her eyes. Sakura turned around to see the hall had filled further with black armored soldiers, and set her shoulders. 

"Shall we, Lady Sakura?" Subaki was still being emphatic about her title to the woman, Sakura could tell, but the only thing she could see was the lines of soldiers, the weeping cries of the injured. 

"There are s-so many of them." Sakura thought again of the bleak images of Nohr that Kaze had conjured up. If he was right, these people had moved from frozen, barren lands to a war zone, to be ambushed by her people. Perhaps they had thought - perhaps they still thought - they would never see their homeland again. She felt warmth rise to her face, but fought it back, blinking quickly. If she thought she would never see Hoshido again - never see the pink cherry blossoms bloom, never see the plum trees ripen red and maroon, never watch the mists descend over the plains in the fall, never wake up to see gabled roofs covered in dustings of snow - she would perish. She was sure of it.

"You're too kind, milady," Subaki said, but it was warm. "Shall we?"

A dark-haired pegasus knight with a shattered knee. A huge, hulking man with a concussion. A warrior class Sakura didn't recognize, bent over a series of broken ribs. A broken hand, an amputated forearm, an array of wounds and bruises and broken limbs. Sakura could feel her energy draining from her with each raise of her rod, with each short break Subaki forced her to take by ushering her over to Hana, who was still faithfully guarding the supplies. 

"It's getting late, Sakura," Hana said the fourth time that Sakura sat herself down by the supplies. 

"Th-That's all right," Sakura said, not listening. The gash on the archer's thigh she had just been tending to had been deep. A slice of bone had run through it, and there had been pieces of cloth, specks of dirt. The possibility of infection. Sakura had given the archer an antidote as well as waved her staff, but still - the slice of red meat and veins would not leave her head. She swore to never eat meat when she was young, but every time she healed she remade that vow.

"At least eat something." Subaki knelt beside her.

"No." Sakura shook her head, her stomach turning. "H-How many left?"

"There's only a few left, milady." Hana laid a hand on her shoulder. "Just rest for now."

"One more," Sakura said dimly. Bone and blood. She wondered if her sister, her brothers, had seen the eerie sight of their own flesh, intestines spilling. Unnatural. Terrifying. The archer had screamed when she had healed her. Sakura stood. "J-Just one more, Hana."

Hana met her eyes. Sakura could see the familiar furrow between Hana's eyebrows, the set of her jaw. And then she sighed. "Just one more." 

"Once more, but you must rest after this. Otherwise, I'll carry you to your chambers myself, milady." Subaki grinned at her. 

Sakura nodded. "Okay."

They walked through the rows of individuals laying on futons, makeshift stretchers. One man was laid on an odd contraption Sakura had never seen before - a piece of cloth hanging between two poles, cocoon-like fabric supporting him. 

A man gasped in pain somewhere to their left and Sakura honed in on the noise like shreds of iron to a magnet. Subaki followed behind her, and soldiers moved aside to let them pass. Sakura looked at the man. He was lying stomach-down on a futon. An arrow in his arm that no one had yet dealt with, and a hastily-bandaged slice on his back.

"E-Excuse me," she said quietly to the man. There was no response. Sakura walked around the futon to where his head was facing. His eyes were shut, mouth slack. 

"Excuse me," she repeated. His eyes opened sleepily. "I - I am a healer. Will you let me heal you?"

"Let you?" His voice was raspy; his eyes were slightly dilated. Sakura suspected some sort of sedative, but was not sure. 

"I'm going to h-heal your back," she told him. "S-So I need to take off the bandages."

"Bandages," The man repeated, voice trailing away. His eyes closed again. Sakura carefully leant slightly forward and smelled his face for any trace of ingested sedative. Nothing smelled familiar. She bit her lip.

"It's fine, milady," Subaki said from behind her. "Let me help with the bandages."

"Right." Sakura pulled out a pair of small scissors from her sash and let Subaki lift the bandages slowly from the man's back. The man, blessedly, only sucked in a breath, instead of shrieking. She cut the bandages with practice and began to unfold them.

Subaki helped her separate the man's tunic so she could see the wound better, and then Sakura set to work. Lifting the rod, pulling from the strength given to her by the Dawn Dragon to heal him. The weight on her chest that pushed her down each time she healed was heavier than it had been earlier in the day, and the light emitting from her rod seemed more blinding than usual. Sakura opened her eyes, noted the cut's half-healed state, and raised her rod, cast her spell once again.

"I see the stories were not exaggerated." The words ran through Sakura like a jolt of electricity. She froze, rod still lifted high above the man. The prince.

"Lady Sakura is working right now," Subaki said. The words were not cold, exactly, but they were certainly far from warm.

"I can see you have been very successful." The man's words were once more addressed to her. Sakura lowered her rod, looked at the man. He was surveying the area. "I have been told you have been exceedingly helpful. You and the other Hoshidan healers."

"I-I told you," Sakura said. He turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised, a question unvoiced. "That I would heal them."

"Ah. Yes." The man smiled slightly. "And so you are."

Sakura looked at the man below her, the jarring disconnect between the shaft of the arrow protruding from his upper arm. The prince's gaze was weighty, uncomfortable. He did not appear to be in any rush to move. 

"He has been drugged," the prince said off-handedly. "Some form of narcotic, I assume. Some of the soldiers carry them for the injured."

Sakura nodded slowly, eyes still fixed on the arrow, on the man's almost frighteningly blank face. It was as she would have guessed. But even with a narcotic, the man was still in pain. Every second the arrow was still in his arm was a second wasted. "I-I see. N-Now, if you will let me continue, I need to finish healing this man."

The prince's eyes widened slightly at the dismissal, but then he almost smiled, mouth curving slightly. "Of course. Forgive me for interrupting your work."

Sakura nodded, acknowledging the words, and then turned back to the task at hand. Dislodging the arrow. Cleaning the wound. Healing it. The process was both exhausting and therapeutic. In the moments when she was healing, her mind could not be on the man's pain, or the pain of anyone else around her, or the prince's eyes, which she could still feel resting upon her despite her concentration - or on the prince's odd half-smile in response to her cold words. Now all she needed to think of was the injury and the healing process. It had to be the wound and the wound only.

As the last rush of the healing spell left her, Sakura nodded at the small scar on the man's arm "There." She let out a breath, suddenly feeling her long-ignored exhaustion catching up to her. Subaki stepped a little closer to her; Sakura straightened, gathering herself, knowing that Subaki had intended to support her body if necessary.

"Your handiwork is very impressive." The prince was examining the man's scar on his back. Sakura took a deep breath, shifting her focus from her exhaustion and onto the prince's presence. "I have not met many healers in Nohr who could work so quickly."

"Perhaps your people are more suited to destruction," Subaki said off-handedly.

The prince's eyes flicked to Subaki for only a second. Then he smiled, teeth glinting. "Perhaps." 

Sakura realized, in the sudden absence of furious retort, that neither of his retainers were at his side. And the armor he always wore was gone - instead, he wore black clothing edged with purple and gold, the long black cape still in place.

"But I am more apt to think, Lady Sakura, that it is you who is talented, and not my people who are at fault." The prince smiled at her, this time. Sakura did not have time to register the oddity of the situation before the prince's fingertips skimmed the man's scar. 

It was only a second's worth of contact, but Sakura's mouth opened before she could stop herself, rote memory jumping to action. "Touching the wound could disturb its healing. He shouldn't be moved." 

He blinked at her, but immediately removed his hand. "I see. I wonder if your rod works more at the depth of the wound, then? I do not believe there is an issue in touching a scar if one uses a staff." 

"I-I don't know." Sakura was slightly in shock that her rebuke had been met with nothing more than curiosity. 

"I was trained," the prince said, now moving around the futon to look at the arrow wound she had just completed work upon, "in healing myself, but never took a liking to it."

"I… see." Sakura had gone stiff. He was standing rather close to her, his cape nearly brushing her arm. Subaki's hand had gone tight around his lance, but he hadn't moved.

"Perhaps I should have learned from Hoshidans instead," the prince said, apparently not worried that his audience was unresponsive. "This wound could easily have festered and killed him."

Sakura looked at the arrow she had discarded onto the floor. It was true; the prince clearly had received some sort of instruction in healing. Yet the way he stood suggested warrior, not healer. And the way his cape brushed her bare upper arm as he moved to examine the wound closely, the reminder of his proximity to her, was making her deeply anxious. 

The prince, for his part, looked over his shoulder at her, read something in her eyes, and then walked back around the table. He glanced at the man lying before them, and then at some of the other reclining Nohrian soldiers. And then he bowed slightly. Sakura stiffened. 

"I know that you said you are not doing this work for me, but I am grateful nonetheless. Thank you, Lady Sakura, for what you have done today." 

Sakura's mouth opened, but no words came out. The prince nodded again at her, apparently unsurprised by her shock, and began to walk back through the Nohrian soldiers. None of them called out to him as he passed, though she could tell several pairs of eyes followed him as he left.

Subaki hummed contemplatively behind her when he was far enough away to be out of earshot. "So the prince came and said thank you."

"It… seems so." Sakura shut her eyes and felt the world spin around her. "I… I think some food might be necessary, Subaki."

"Of course, milady." Subaki did not need any more encouragement, and immediately took her arm to support her. "I'll tell Hana to pick something up."

* * *

"How many Hoshidans were there?" Leo asked her. The captain of the convoy stood before him, her blonde hair matted, rings of blueish purple under her eyes.

The dark knight's mouth puckered. "I could not count them, milord. Enough that, when surprised, we had some trouble fighting them off. They were hiding in the woods when we came by - probably about seventy or eighty people, milord." 

"Seventy or eighty," Leo repeated. While it was no army by any estimate, that number of troops could not have been mobilized in a day or two - unless perhaps there was some network of rebels already formed. Some established methods of communication. Leo could feel the onset of a headache. Again.

"I would guess so, milord." The woman nodded.

"And my brother sent you." Leo formed the question into a statement.

"Yes, milord." The captain apparently did not know he was not privy to this knowledge. 

Leo paused, contemplating how to best ask why his brother had sent her without revealing he did not know.

"The healer, milord." The captain interrupted his thoughts. "The one with pink hair." 

Leo blinked at her, thrown off. "What of her?"

"Is it true, milord, that the princess of Hoshido lives? And it was her?" 

Leo set his mouth into a thin line. "She is cooperating with me." 

"She…" The woman hesitated, and he could tell she was reading his expression, trying to tell how he would react to her next words.

"Yes?" he asked.

"She healed our soldiers well, milord." The captain was not quite meeting his eyes. He understood. If such words had been spoken to his father, or perhaps even Camilla, heads may have rolled. To compliment the enemy was unacceptable. 

"So I saw." Leo did not reveal that he, too, had been impressed. There had been many injured in the convoy, and few were still injured - none injured grievously enough to be in critical condition. The Hoshidans had been efficient. And Kaze had been right. The girl was no insurgent; she was not opportunistic or cruel enough to harm defenseless soldiers, but healed them instead. And moreover, she was experienced. Talented. The stutter on her tongue had been almost gone when she had instructed him to let her work, to not touch the man before her. 

"Of course, milord."

"And the reason you were sent here…" Leo let his words trail off. Let her make what conclusions she liked about his unended statement.

"Yes, milord." The captain straightened. "As soon as we have recovered, we will be aiding you to crush the rebels."

"I am afraid there has been a mistake. Your help here is unnecessary," Leo said immediately.

"A…" The captain paused. "Lord Xander, milord --"

"Is not the ruler of Hoshido." Leo folded his arms. Damn his brother, meddling in his plans without consulting him first. "When your troops have regained their strength, you will return to Nohr."

The captain faltered for words for another second, and then shut her mouth. She nodded. "As you command, milord."

"And send in one of your wyvern riders, will you? I have a message I need delivered." Leo turned away, a dismissal. The captain muttered another "yes, milord," and then left the room.

Leo barely had enough time to place the final seal on the letter he had written to Xander when the rap came on the wooden part of the door. "Lord Leo?"

"Enter." 

When the door rattled slightly in a familiar motion that Leo had learned came when Nohrians tried to open sliding doors as they were accustomed to normal doors functioning, Niles strode over and wrenched it open. The wyvern rider stiffened, and Leo remembered that Niles still somehow had not cleaned that blood off of his neck.

"Send this, will you?" Leo asked the man as he came in. He handed the letter over and waved the man away again, who, with one last glance at Niles, was more than happy to flee. 

"Clean yourself up, will you?" Leo eyed Niles.

"It doesn't bother me, milord." Niles grinned in that decidedly catlike way of his - feline and sharp-toothed.

Leo bit back a retort about Niles looking as though he had lost a battle - which, in some sense, perhaps was true - and sat at the chair behind his desk. "So Xander decided I needed help."

"It appears so, milord." 

"Damn him," Leo said aloud. The fact that he had said it this time made the thought no less aggravating. His brother had said that Leo would answer to him - that implied unrestricted action unless his brother disagreed with his actions. This wasn't even disagreeing with Leo's actions - this was Xander imposing his own rule on Hoshido without consulting the ruler he had placed there.

"The captain appeared rather taken with the girl." Niles's voice was flat.

Leo blinked. "Yes." 

"All she did was heal some people." Niles was decidedly unimpressed. 

"It was surprisingly efficient." Leo thought about the girl - her arms raising her rod, her back suddenly straight. She had seemed every inch of royalty while she had been healing. He had sensed it - her reign over those seconds, a rule over blood and bone instead of people, over tissue and marrow instead of councils and regents. "Elise heals like her, but those rods must work differently than staves."

Niles was silent. Leo could sense his stormy irritation swelling. "Go clean yourself up, Niles. I need to think." 

"Of course, milord." The words were laced with ironic subservience, but Leo kept his eyes focused on the blank parchment before him until Niles, too, had swept from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is The Fic That Will Never Die. Whenever I swear I don't have time for it... somehow it keeps nagging at me.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter comes to you courtesy of my seven hours in airplanes on Wednesday.

"Letter for you, milord," Laslow said quickly as he walked into the room, "from your lord brother."

Xander looked up from the thick text of Nohrian law he was reading, neck cracking uncomfortably as he did. "Gods, anything to distract me from this bone-dry book." 

Laslow grimaced dutifully. "I guess it's a princely duty, milord." 

He handed the letter across the table, and Xander attempted to ignore the fact that all he had done that day was reading papers by reading another sheet of paper.

_Xander -_

_While you are the crown prince, and I recognize that, I ask that you do not send troops into Hoshido without inquiring with me first. I assume you have heard they were attacked by errant rebels. It is likely because such a large regiment implies we wish to crush them with force alone, and the rebels found that an easy banner to rally behind._

_I ask that you refrain from doing so further, as the situation in Hoshido is so unstable as to tip easily without a delicate hand. While I will continue to send back resources as ever, I do not believe the best way forward is breaking Hoshidan spirits with soldiers. If we intend to secure Hoshido as a territory, it will be vital that we gain their support._

_Please send word if you intend to send troops so we can at least discuss strategy beforehand. Perhaps spreading the troops out will be more effective. It appears the Hoshidan rebels have grown used to fighting guerrilla-style._

_As ever, I remain,  
Your brother, Leo_

"What is he talking about?" Xander asked. 

"Milord?" Laslow looked up from inspecting the fire.

"He thinks I sent troops into Hoshido?" Xander stood up. Hours of feeling restricted in the room with the hot fire breathing smoke and sparks into it were never enjoyable for the crown prince, and the letter was the last straw. He stared at the letter. "What in the gods' names is Leo talking about?"

"I… can't be sure, milord." Laslow looked concerned. 

"I never sent troops," Xander said. "And Leo would not be making this up."

Laslow's eyes widened fractionally, but he did not say anything, or move from his position in front of the fire. 

"Camilla would not have done it." Xander addressed himself more than Laslow. "So… it must be Father." 

Laslow's brow furrowed. "Surely… your father would have mentioned it to you, milord? Or to Lord Leo, at least."

Xander didn't say anything in response. Father had holed himself up in his throne room for hours on end recently. Mystics, palm-readers, and the like had filed in and out of the room, but none of the royal siblings had been allowed in. Even Elise… Xander sighed at the thought. Elise had rushed in the room, crying about Father not even letting her in the door. He had told her to get out of his sight. She had been understandably crushed, but Xander had not even been let in the throne room to attempt to extract some sort of apology from their father. No. The thought that their father had sent troops was, all in all, not entirely shocking; Xander was learning that surprising or unexpected was more of the norm.

Xander rubbed his eyes and re-read the letter quickly again. The words remained unchanged. "But why does he think I sent them with such certainty?"

"Perhaps… Lord Leo guessed?" Laslow tried.

Xander sighed, remembering conversations from the past. Leo snapping, irritated, at Xander making a decision without consulting him during one of the few battles with Hoshidan soldiers that Leo had been engaged with. Leo, silently chafing in a strategy meeting, ignoring the conversation around him with wordless fury after Xander had interrupted one of his monologues on strategy. Perhaps Leo had seen a pattern. His brother did enjoy making educated guesses.

Xander, too, walked to the fire to stand beside his retainer. He rested a hand on the mantel and, slowly, rested his own forehead upon his hand. "Leo… is angry with me. I can tell."

Laslow did not say anything in response; the fire cracked.

"He thinks I disrespect his authority. Enough to send in troops to territory I gave over to him without his permission." Xander stared at the flames as they flashed below him. 

"Then you only need send a letter to explain the situation, milord." 

Laslow's determined cheer had no effect. Xander rubbed his forehead, feeling an odd sense of foreboding. "I will send a letter. But gods know what Father will do if he finds out the Hoshidans attacked the convoy… if he indeed sent it."

Laslow fell silent again. Xander stretched, and returned to his desk, pulling a fresh sheet of parchment from the drawer. His brother would know if Laslow had written the letter; Leo was the closest and most intelligent reader of the family. Leo knew everyone's writing by sight and word choice. So it must be him, then. Xander shut his eyes and thought.

* * *

"I think that s-should be good by now," Sakura said quietly. "I-It's healed enough that you can start doing some short exercises for rehabilitation." 

"Thanks." The Nohrian rolled his shoulders self-consciously. "I… appreciate it."

"Th-That's all right." Sakura bowed shallowly. "I hope it improves quickly."

"Right." The man looked discomfited. Sakura took that to be her cue to leave and turned to the door, her brief rounds of the sick ward complete.

Sakura had learned a lot about this man in the short check-ups she had been putting him through. His name was Neil. He was a foot soldier in the seventh regiment of the Nohrian army, part of which had been appropriated to Hoshido - the group she had helped heal. There were no rings on his hands, which some long-lost remnant of her tutors' teachings about Nohr instructed her that he was not married, but Sakura had noticed the hesitant, worshipful gaze he directed at his commander - the blonde dark knight that Sakura had encountered while first beginning to heal the Nohrians.

Sakura had learned a lot about these Nohrians. For good or for ill. It had only been four days since they had arrived, but now a portion of her day was set aside to tend to those who were still recovering (which, by now, was a small number). They had turned from her in confusion at first - gods knew she understood why. A Hoshidan healing them. Sakura could not have imagined this situation only a few weeks ago, and yet here she was, and here they were, wasting away somewhere in the castle she had called her own. There had been very few who had perished - one who had been severely wounded initially and had died on the second day, while Sakura had knitted a bone back together in another room, and one who had tried to eat while bedridden and alone, and had choked upon the food that had been so foreign to him. Sakura shut her eyes at the thought. 

"You have done well with my soldiers." Sakura jumped as she turned back to the man whose side she had just left. The blonde dark knight was standing where she had just been standing while healing the man. 

"Commander," the man said, sitting up unnaturally straight in his bed. Sakura was struck again by the warm gaze he directed at her. It was somehow unsettling to think that these Nohrians, who she had thought so different from herself, could love unrequitedly in the same way as she had once loved Kaze. Flushed faces. The way the man was careful to present himself well to her. Sakura bit her lip.

Hana, who had been resolutely standing guard by the doorway of the sick ward, suddenly appeared at Sakura's side, her gaze raking the beds' inhabitants with a laser stare. Hana's eyes narrowed when she rested on the dark knight, but she said nothing. Her black armor was still jarring to Sakura, the polished edges of its obsidian gleam contrasted with the pink and white ties that Hana still wrapped around her forehead.

The woman smiled slightly at Sakura, startling her back into the present. "Oh, um." Sakura fumbled for words.

"I was told by Lord Leo that you are the former princess." 

The woman's words were not cold, but Sakura still winced slightly.

"You should address milady as Lady Sakura," Hana said sharply. "Even your Lord Leo does."

"I see." The woman nodded slowly. 

She made no correction to her speech, and Hana bristled at Sakura's side. To head off the inevitable confrontation, Sakura cleared her throat. "I-I am."

"Even though you are Hoshidan." The woman looked at the man's stomach as she spoke, and Sakura heard the unspoken end of the sentence - even though you are Hoshidan, you heal them. "I had thought many of them would die. Instead, only two passed away - and those two were very close to death when they arrived."

"H-Human life…" Sakura said quietly. The shrine maiden's teachings were often degraded by soldiers who had served long battles fighting Nohrians, but they still rang somewhat true to Sakura's ears. "Human life is p-precious. All deserve s-saving."

"And did they when you fought against us?" 

Sakura looked at the floor. The black-armored men she had walked through during battle when Hana had protected her through the fight to heal her comrades, the Nohrian soldiers moaning in pain that she had flown over while mounted on Subaki's pegasus. It had still hurt, to hear those shrieks of pain, though at the time it was Takumi's words that rung in her ears - "Nohrian scum! They killed Mother mercilessly," or, "They're barely human, even, have you seen their masks?" It had been easier to pretend that Nohrians were inhuman. To steel herself against their cries, in death, for their loved ones - mothers, sisters, brothers, lovers. 

"They did." Sakura said quietly, unable to look up. 

"I see." The woman cleared her throat. "Well. Either way. You have my thanks, Lady Sakura."

She looked up in surprise at the words. The woman made an odd, formal nod, which Sakura took to be an attempt at a bow. Hana snorted but blessedly said nothing. Sakura, uncomfortable, made a shallow bow as well. 

"We should return to Subaki," Hana said softly.

"Y-Yes." Sakura nodded. "Let's go." 

They walked in silence, Sakura absentmindedly playing with something in her hands. The Nohrian had thanked her. The proud one. Sakura was no longer sure if she wanted to force away the thoughts of Nohrian humanity, now that she had been confronted with it over and over. It was hard to deny. Halfway down one of the winding hallways, Hana stopped short, looking at Sakura's hands.

"Milady," Hana said hesitantly, "Isn't that a roll of bandages from the medical ward?" 

Sakura looked at her hands - it was indeed. "Oh - oh no." 

"I can go return it, milady," Hana said quickly.

"N-No, it's my fault," Sakura said, embarrassed. "I'll just run it back and I'll meet up with y-you and Subaki in a second."

"Are you sure?" Hana scanned the hallway behind them as though expecting someone menacing to appear in the path they had just walked.

"Yes," Sakura said firmly. "I - Hana, I can walk a few steps myself."

"…Well." Hana looked to where they had planned to meet up with Subaki. An odd look that Sakura had not often seen before crossed Hana's face. "If you think so, I'll just wait with Subaki for you."

Sakura paused. Now that she had gotten permission, she felt slightly more hesitant. Hana normally put up more of a fight. She shook her head quickly to clear the thought from her mind. "Right. I'll be back in a second."

"Okay." Hana smiled quickly at her and walked away.

It took Sakura a minimum of five minutes to open the door to the medical ward, drop the roll of bandages on a low table set up for the very purpose of holding supplies, and walk back down the hallway. Even though she had just told Hana that she would be fine, she was now a little concerned. She had not walked without her retainers around the castle in quite some time.

"I mean, don't you think so?" It was Subaki's voice, some distance away.

"W-Well…" Hana's voice, this time. It was uncharacteristically shaky. Sakura noted this and sped up her pace, the oddity of it combined with her general unease with walking alone making her slightly anxious. What were her retainers up to?

"I think…" Subaki's voice got quieter suddenly, and though she could hear the sound of him speaking, Sakura could no longer make out words.

"That…" Sakura's brow furrowed. Hana's voice did not normally trail off in this way, either. 

Subaki said something again, but it was quiet enough - murmured, almost - that Sakura again couldn't make out distinct words. She thought about the prince's concerns about rebellion in Hoshido - about the Nohrian soldiers being in the castle, helpless and vulnerable - and her heart rate sped up. Surely her retainers would not do anything without her approval. They were loyal to a fault. And yet her thoughts still went to Hana's furious gaze on the reclining soldiers.

And it was with these thoughts on her mind that Sakura turned the corner of the hallway and froze. 

Hana and Subaki were standing very close together. Subaki had leant over her slightly, and Hana's face was tilted upwards towards his, as a flower moves with the sun. His fingers were brushing her jaw, and though Hana's mouth was open as though in surprise, her cheeks were flushed. As were Subaki's, for that matter. 

Sakura was registering this with rapid fire speed, her mind working at double time to process the information directly in front of her. Subaki was leaning slightly forward, and Sakura's mind suddenly registered with bruising clarity that her retainers were about to kiss and they didn't know she was there and gods this was going to be so embarrassing for everyone involved because even though it was just a kiss this seemed so private and she wasn't meant to be there -- and, overwhelmed with horror at her own accidental voyeurism, squeaked and closed her eyes.

"Gods!" Hana's voice. Sakura turned and rushed down the hallway without waiting to hear another word, fleeing the situation with as much speed as she could muster. Her retainers! They must think she was spying on them. Sakura knew with uncomfortable clarity that she was incredibly flustered and her face was probably beacon-red to reflect that.

"Lady Sakura?" The voice took a full second for Sakura to register, given the confused state of her mind. Yukimura. The machinist, accompanied by a single Nohrian guard, eyed her in surprise and some - Sakura noted with the still-functioning part of her brain - trepidation. "Are you all right?"

"I -" Sakura couldn't quite get the words out between the exertion of running and her flustered thoughts. "I, um, sh-should go to - to the library."

"The - library, milady?" Yukimura's words followed her as she sped past him after a perfunctory, and hurried, nod in his direction. "Lady Sakura?"

"S-Sorry!" She sped away. 

She knew where the library was, and she sincerely hoped that no one was using it at this point in time, because she was about to hide in it for the rest of the day. Gods. Her retainers! They were…. Something beyond friends? For how long? Was this just the beginning she had intruded on, or had this been going on for ages? Sakura stopped in front of the arched entrance into the library and pressed her hands to her face. Her fingers were significantly colder than her cheeks, and it cooled the burn in them somewhat. But gods. She shut her eyes again. They had never said anything! Perhaps they thought she would disapprove? But she wouldn't. Would she? 

Sakura stumbled into the library, head still grasped in her hands. The arrangement of books and scrolls were normally a source of calm - or at least boredom - but even they were ignored by her at this moment. She finally sat herself down on a cushion in front of one of the low reading tables scattered throughout the room and rested her elbows on the table. Gods. Subaki and Hana. Her mind kept replaying the scene. It all made sense - that little scene in the garden where Subaki had been so smug, and Hana so red. But they were like brother and sister to her. Or close friends. But of course she approved! Sakura set her hands on the table and nodded resolutely at the row of books on the other side of the table. 

But she had run away. Sakura couldn't repress the sigh. She was such an idiot. Gods. They would of course think she disapproved, or was horrified by the whole situation. Or maybe they hadn't even wanted to tell her? Did they think so little of her? 

She stood up. Pacing had occasionally cleared her thoughts in the past. The library was silent, after all - and it was very unlikely any Nohrian desired to read from the royal library. As she walked, Sakura tried to focus on something other than her retainers. She had studied here, long ago - or what felt like long ago. Honestly, it had only last been about a year ago: sitting beside Hinoka, watching her sister practice writing in formal calligraphy while Takumi grumbled in front of her about having to read some book for his tutor instead of practicing archery. Sakura herself had been reading nature poetry for fun, having finished all her tutor-assigned work. Of her siblings, she had always been given the least to do - no one had expected her to have anything other than an ornamental role in government.

Sakura ran her hand down a row of books as she passed it. Ancient Hoshidan history, all categorized here in whatever complex method the royal librarians had devised. At one point, she and her siblings had had to memorize where things were, but she had long forgotten. 

Upon turning another corner, Sakura stopped at the sight of blonde hair, facing away from her. Unmistakable black clothing, as if the short blonde hair was not enough. He was reading - reading at one of the low-rise tables identical to the one she herself had just sat at. The prince. Sakura carefully stepped back behind the bookshelf, turning to look at the books in front of her. He was reading? Here? Kaze had said, she remembered, that he was a strategist. Maybe he wanted to take all the knowledge he could from whatever the Hoshidans had to give him. 

"I can hear you." The prince's voice was almost half-amused. Sakura blinked. It almost sounded like an entirely different person. "Come on, Odin. You're horrible at surprising people, let alone me." 

Sakura pressed her lips together in horror. Was he speaking to her? Did he think she was his retainer? 

"Odin." The prince's armor clinked. Sakura fought the urge to bolt for the second time that day. Perhaps he wasn't standing up. His voice suddenly changed to what she had heard before - somehow rougher. More commanding. "If you are not Odin, reveal yourself."

Sakura shut her eyes. What would Hana and Subaki say? They'd never let her out of their sight again if she told them about this. She addressed the bookcase opposite her. "I-It is m-me - um, S-Sakura."

"L-Lady Sakura." It was the first time she had heard him stumble over a word, and even through her horror at the situation, she noted that. The prince's armor clinked again, and she heard footsteps. "You are -"

"I w-was just leaving," Sakura said hurriedly, and turned quickly, walking while fighting not to run. 

"I... see." The footsteps stopped, but the prince's voice still followed her as she left. "Good day, then."

"G-Good day," Sakura squeaked, turning another corner in an effort to put more shelves between them. She paused once she was outside the library, horrified at herself. All she was doing today, it seemed, was running away. Sakura bent over, putting her hands on her knees. She had been so close to him - he had been studying or reading with no retainer in sight. A voice that sounded uncannily like Takumi's whispered in her ear - "alone, vulnerable, an easy target." Sakura shut her eyes against it.

"Lady Sakura!" Sakura almost melted into the floor, exhausted both mentally and physically, but all thoughts of the prince immediately forced from her mind. Hana. So they had already found her - likely, Yukimura had told them where she had been running to.

"Milady." Subaki followed directly behind Hana, and hey both stopped quickly in front of her. Sakura chanced glances at both of their faces. Wariness, as though they were about to try to face the Nohrian dark knight commander without their weapons. 

"I-I support you," Sakura said quickly, before either could open their mouths. She flushed, but pressed on. "U-Um. I mean, I-I don't q-quite understand and - and I wasn't spying on you, I swear, I was just - I was coming back from putting the bandages back - and I'm sorry for interrupting! And I support - I mean, I support whatever - um, whatever you want. Y-Yes."

Hana paused; Subaki was faster. "Milady… Thank you." His words were few, but Sakura could see the sudden loosening of his features. 

"S-Sakura…" Hana's eyes were suddenly warm and almost wet. Sakura felt her heart constrict slightly - her best friend, so emotional. "You…"

Subaki's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "And - milady - no one thought you were spying on us." 

"W-Well," Sakura stuttered. "I - I just - I mean - I wanted to m-make sure."

"Of course you did, milady." Subaki almost laughed, a surprised huffing noise. "Gods. I was so - I thought…"

"I thought you didn't' approve!" Hana burst out suddenly, a hand quickly scrubbed over her eyes, "Gods, you scared me so much, running away like that! By yourself, too!" 

"You shouldn't have done that, milady," Subaki added immediately. "Yukimura was incredibly concerned for you."

"Ah." Sakura bit her lip. She probably had been quite a scene, running past him; Sakura made a note to apologize later.

"Shall we go back to your room, then? Or would you rather read for a little while?" Subaki asked.

Sakura remembered the prince and shook her head quickly. "N-No. I'm - I'm ready to go back."

* * *

Somewhere in the Hoshidan woods, a voice speaks from outside a small hut. "Oboro?" 

"Yeah, what?" A woman's voice. Rough. Her face: bruised, slightly dirtied, eyes pinched slightly against some pain unseen to anyone but herself. Her back and shoulders wrapped with bandages, her arms carefully set at her sides to avoid disturbing them. A shock of blue-black hair, grown long now, lay loose around her, instead of tied in her normal high ponytail. 

"You wanted to see me?" The man who had spoken previously enters. Brown hair in a rough ponytail, what looks to be a broken arm slung at his chest.

"Oh, good." The woman braces herself for the slight exertion, and then roars. "Hinata, gods damn it, I told you not to go on an expedition!" 

"B-" Whatever Hinata had been about to say is lost.

"Can you not take orders? Dear gods! We need to gather our forces, not squander them on useless guerilla attacks that will just incite more Nohrian oppression!" The woman takes a deep breath, clearly taken aback by the force of her own anger on the chest wound that she had bandaged so tightly. 

"They were coming into the country! Was I supposed to just let them go by?" Hinata waves a hand in the general direction of the outside world. 

"You can't just make decisions!" Oboro bursts out again.

"Why not?" Hinata makes an instinctual motion to cross his arms and then realizes he couldn't. 

"You're an idiot, that's why!" Oboro smacks the table in front of her, and then recoils instantly, curling over her stomach. "Gods!"

"Oh no," Hinata says immediately. "I'll run and get a healer." 

"It's fine," Oboro says tightly, between gasping breaths, but she speaks to the door as it swings shut.

Somewhere in the Hoshidan woods, a rebel party rallies behind the words "for Hoshido." Somewhere in the walls of Krakenburg, a wyvern rider suits up, a letter written from royal brother to royal brother clasped in his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for all of you who were waiting for the Subaki/Hana... This one was for you. Anyways, this was kind of chapter with a bunch of miscellaneous stuff in it, but don't worry. I hope the next one will make up for it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me offer a very heartfelt thank you to those of you who have commented on the piece. Please know that your words really do keep me going :) 
> 
> And I really do mean that long-term: I have literally waited about an entire year to write this scene.

The shrine was quiet. The line of plum trees were almost in bloom, even if it was approaching winter, as though they were trying to make up for the desolation of the shrine. The maidens had clearly tried to clean it several times, but the grime that stuck to the beautiful wooden carvings was stubborn. Sakura walked to the small purification fountain and closed her eyes as she picked up the wooden ladle and splashed her left hand with it, letting it trickle down her forearms, flecking her sleeve. She did the same with her other hand, easily transferring the ladle and cleansing her right hand. Carefully placing the ladle back on the ledge it had rested upon, she turned to the small altar and the set of stairs in front of it. 

She walked to the stairs and ascended them until she stood in front of the raised platform before the altar. The silk cords that wound around one another to form the rope up to the bell were in worse condition than she had remembered. Or was she misremembering? It had been a long time.

Subaki was in the castle, still, and Hana was somewhere else in the shrine grounds, had muttered something about wanting to speak to a shrine maiden. So now it was Sakura and the deity she sought. Her and her ancestor, if the legends were truth. Sakura looked up to the rope, tracing its path up to the bell it was meant to ring, and then reached out her hand and pulled it sharply.

* * *

A clang rung through the otherwise silent grounds of the shrine. Leo paused, hand hovering over the page he had just been about to turn. The strange gates and miniature buildings scattered about were tended by a small staff of shrine maidens who gave him a wide berth whenever he came by. It was peaceful here, mostly - Niles claimed the place repulsed him, and Odin murmured about odd spirits. The absence of his retainers did tend to mean that Leo's surroundings were more peaceful. 

He began to read the last sentence on the page again, but paused when two claps resounded from the same area of the shrine. He had never heard so much noise in the shrine before. What was going on? He stood, shutting the book, and began to walk through the grounds. 

Through the green and brown foliage and dull red flaking paint of the shrine, he saw a flash of bright pink. Leo paused. But it was indeed her - the princess. Sakura - Lady Sakura. She had earned the formal title, now. She was standing silently in front of a house-like structure. A long cord hung before her; Leo realized she must have rung a bell.

Neither of her retainers was nearby. A bird trilled somewhere to his right, far off. The air was chilly, but the girl's upper arms were still bare. There was a pool of water to her right, a ladle resting atop it. 

Something about the scene made him pause. There was a reverence to her hunched shoulders. Prayer, perhaps. As a descendant of the Dawn Dragon, perhaps she was conversing with her ancestor. If one believed such things. Leo was not particularly inclined to believe in prayer's powers - but even he had used Dragon Veins, seen their powers, how rank-and-file soldiers trembled at their use. Something was different about the blood of royals. And indeed, the girl herself appeared to be deep in thought, if not conversation.

He wondered if he should walk away. He was unwelcome here, and surely the girl would not wish to be alone with him, particularly given how she had seemed absolutely horrified in his presence in the library only two days previously. But the scene was somehow beautiful - her quiet prayers. People of faith were intriguing to him, more so perhaps because no one else in his life really believed in much besides themselves. Odin may have claimed to believe in dark forces and so on, but to an extent that was all a joke. But she was certainly not joking, or blindly following a ritual - there was a purpose to her posture. And it was beautiful in its own way - the decadence of a run-down shrine contrasted with her pressed white and pink shrine maiden outfit. 

And then all at once she turned around before he had left, and her eyes, so green, met his.

* * *

An audible gasp escaped her lips. The prince. Gods. Sakura froze in position on the altar steps. And she didn't know where Hana was, and she was all alone, and the shrine maidens would probably seek to avoid him altogether. 

The prince looked just as surprised as she did for a second, and then he quickly regained himself. "Lady Sakura. Forgive me. I was just passing through."

"O-Oh, n-no," Sakura stuttered without purpose, mind still at a halt. This was her sacred place. This shrine was meant to be safe for her, had always brought her solace. She was not sure if she was upset more because she was surprised or because she somehow felt betrayed - that this most private of actions had been intruded upon by the one she would have least liked to see it. And then she amended the thought - Niles, surely, would have been far worse.

"I did not mean to intrude," the man said, suddenly voicing her thoughts. Sakura gaped at him. For a second she did believe he could read thoughts. "I heard the bell, you see."

"S-So y-you weren't j-just passing through," Sakura said, as this was the only thing she could think of.

The man, to her surprise, grimaced slightly. "Well, no. Not… exactly. I must ask your forgiveness for the white lie."

"Th-That's… okay." The urge of formal convention forced Sakura to forgive him.

The prince walked closer to the purification fountain, inspecting it. "May I ask what you are doing here?" 

"I… am p-paying my respects." Sakura folded her arms, discomfited at his curiosity. This was her place. If there was any piece of Hoshido that was still hers, it was the shrines. For the gods knew the prince of Nohr did not appear to be one to worship anything other than the power - political, physical, over magic - that all Nohrians appeared to crave. 

The prince nodded slowly, picked up the ladle, and raised his other hand as though to insert it in the bowl of the ladle.

"S-Stop!" Sakura couldn't help herself. The prince froze instantaneously, eyes meeting hers. Sakura stuttered for a second, cleared her throat, and began with a hurried explanation. "I-It's f-for cleaning yourself, so you c-can't t-touch the bowl of the ladle." 

The prince blinked at her, and lowered it to the water again. "I see. I meant no disrespect. I assumed it was holy water."

"It… is." It was Sakura's time to be surprised. "Um… You wash y-your hands with it."

"I see." The prince placed the ladle delicately back where he had picked it up from. Sakura noticed it was almost the exact same place she had put it. "I am unfamiliar with your customs. In Nohr, you would touch yourself with holy water before praying."

"O-Oh." Sakura paused, thrown off. Was the prince truly here for prayer? And yet he had a book under his arm, suggesting he had come here for another purpose. Or maybe the book was some sort of a Nohrian tradition in prayer, something she had never conceived of. Perhaps she had been wrong in assuming it was only power he sought. "Y-You want to… p-pray here?"

"Not particularly." The prince shrugged. He looked at the shrine behind her. "I am curious, but I do not practice much myself."

Sakura's mouth opened slightly, but she shut it again. She truly did not understand this man.

"Who were you offering your respects to?" The prince looked at her. 

"I…" Sakura looked behind her as though the shrine could offer an answer in her place. "To - To my… my family. And to…" She paused, eyes still fixed on the shrine. "To… those I-I could not save."

"To those you couldn't save." The prince said these words slowly, as though trying to search them for meaning. Sakura looked back at him. He had walked slightly closer, was surveying the shrine. His eyes were dark when he suddenly met her eyes. "Do you mean the Norhians as well as the Hoshidans?"

Sakura opened her mouth again and shut it. She had spoken prayers over the departed men, despite their black armor, despite not knowing their names - or barely even their faces. Each death was personal when she had been assigned their lives to care for. It had been her duty, and she had undertaken it: heal these men. And she had failed that mission - she had failed them. "P-Perhaps… you will not believe me."

"So you mean both, then?" The prince took a few steps closer. "I am told over and over of your generosity with my men… although perhaps not in so many words. The soldiers are rather shocked."

"I…" Sakura looked at the shrine. Something about the place was comforting, despite the man's presence so close beside her, and its familiarity allowed her to speak more freely than she would have otherwise. "I think… I am also sh-shocked." 

"Oh?" The prince seemed almost amused. He walked up the steps behind her so that he was standing at her side, but kept to the opposite edge of the landing so that there was still at least two feet between them. He scanned the shrine with what Sakura thought could have been curiosity.

"Y-Yes." Sakura looked at the coin offerings scattered in the shrine. "I - I never th-thought I would…." 

"Heal Norhians? Or pray for them?" The prince's voice was almost wry. 

Sakura found herself surprised at the black humor, and her lips twitched slightly before she recognized it as a smile and fought it away. "P-Perhaps… both."

The man snorted slightly, readjusting the book at his side. A companionable sort of silence settled over them. Sakura wondered at the quiet peace she felt despite his nearness. Perhaps it was the Dawn Dragon, giving her the courage that she had asked for; perhaps her siblings' spirits were at her side, passing her along their bravery - the bravery she had never possessed. The shrine was deserted, and perhaps that helped too - to see him, and herself, alone, without the apparent trappings of power, or royalty, or anything other than being two individuals, equals at the feet of the gods.

"What is it you believe in, Lady Sakura?" The man's words were light, almost delicate. 

Sakura thought about it for a second before responding. "I… believe in the Dawn Dragon. And… in - in my ancestors." 

"I see." The prince nodded slowly. "Is that what prompts you to heal my men?"

Sakura looked at the coins again, but thought instead of being young - of watching the shrine maidens try to heal her father over and over when he had been found and brought back to the castle. She had stumbled into the scene unwittingly, following her wailing mother. Her father, leaking blood on the floor, eyes glassy. He had been gone already - Sakura now could have told you as much - but then he had been her father, half-asleep, but all wrong somehow.

"Life…" Sakura said, and then suddenly became self-conscious at starting a sentence with such a grandiose word. "I - I mean… All people are - are important. I - I lost…" 

She stopped herself short. Gods. She had been about to say that she had lost her father - to one of the Nohrians who had killed him. Or - rather - his father had killed hers. She wondered if he knew that. 

The prince said nothing in response to her unfinished sentence for a few seconds, as though waiting for the right second to speak. He cleared his throat slightly before he began. "I have always thought it would be difficult to be a healer."

Sakura looked at him suddenly. He did not look away from the shrine, although her movement must have been unmistakable even out of the corner of his eye. The prince's eyes were soft somehow, his gaze far away.

"I know a healer - she must be about your age." He stopped, looked at the ground for a second, and continued. "She used to cry - whenever she couldn't save someone."

Sakura wondered at this admission in silence. Somehow, it seemed deeply personal. It felt like an offering - something he was handing to her to make her at peace with his presence there. Or perhaps he pitied her. Sakura could not tell. 

"Wh-What are you… doing here?" Sakura asked tentatively.

"In the shrine, you mean?" The prince held up his book to her - the title, The Year in Hoshidan Tradition, startled her. "I was reading." 

"R-Reading," Sakura repeated dumbly. 

The prince's mouth twitched slightly as though he had almost smiled. "Yes. I was reading this in the library the other day when you came in as well, but I find this location is a rather peaceful spot as well. One with few distractions."

"Y-You're reading…" Sakura nodded slightly at the book, "about H-Hoshido."

"Yes." The prince looked gravely back over the shrine. "I am this province's leader. You heard my coronation speech - I did mean it when I said I meant to respect Hoshido's traditions. Part of that entails learning about them."

Province. The word still struck her painfully. "Hoshido…" 

The man turned slightly to look at her, but Sakura was somewhere else entirely, thinking of processions during the New Year's celebration, or walking through night markets with her retainers following closely behind. Seeing children run by with streamers, kites; watching fireworks explode above the castle. The memories, and her sudden realization of the beauty around her, caused heat to suddenly prick behind her eyes. 

Overwhelmed but deeply emboldened by these memories, Sakura turned fiercely to look at him. "Y-You know nothing of - of Hoshido."

The prince looked startled by her tone. Sakura immediately regretted her words. For while they were equals when compared to the gods, this man held her life in his grasp.

"Nothing?" The prince asked. His surprised expression seemed more vulnerable than normal - there was no single, regal, raised eyebrow, but more a loosening of his features in shock. "I… must admit did not expect to hear something like that from you."

Sakura could think of nothing to say in response. Words flowed through her thoughts, but none seemed appropriate. He surveyed her carefully, and Sakura felt distinctly like she was undergoing an evaluation. She swallowed, felt her palms begin to dampen with nervous sweat.

The prince then huffed out what could have been a laugh or a scoff. "In your own way you are correct, you know." 

Sakura tried to speak again, but once more all the things she could say seemed to evade her. She thought of her sister - thought of how Hinoka would never admit an apology for something that she had said that was true. And they had been true, her words. The prince did not know what Hoshido looked like when the cherry blossoms burst, all at once, into flowering blooms. He had not seen the rare meteor showers that all in the castle gathered outside to watch. He had not sat through state dinners of twenty courses, or drank tea in a traditional tea ceremony, or sat in a steaming natural hot springs as dawn came. He had not spoken to hawkers in alleyways selling street food, tasted what roasted marvels they'd constructed from chicken, cow intestine, squid. He had never rang the bell for a new year's blessing, or written out prayers to hang in rows that dangled, wooden and clacking, in the shrine's grounds.

"I could tell you," the prince said, interrupting her thoughts, "how many people live in this city. Where the jungle lays in the land, and where the mountains begin. Or the histories of all the ninja factions, or the lineage of your own family." 

Sakura shook her head, slowly. She didn't need to open her mouth.

"But you're right." The man nodded, and grinned so his face resembled a grimace more than a smile. "All I know is from books, not people. I might as well know nothing at all."

Sakura felt that odd sense of vulnerability from him again, the self-same that she felt from those she healed with her rod: it was the way people both shied away from and leant towards something they thought would be both painful and cleansing. It felt like she was speaking to an entirely different person than the prince who had addressed her after his coronation, when her father's crown had sat on the table between them. This vulnerability made her shift slightly, turning away from him to inspect the shrine again. 

Sympathy. The word was painful; the emotion more so, given who she was feeling it for. Oddly, something like sympathy, or understanding, or pity -- for the man who had stolen everything from her. She was a healer: her life's stated purpose was to fix problems that were presented to her. But this was not something she wanted to fix. He was the cruel ruler who had taken over Hoshido - he was a figurehead of Nohr. He was not a person who was supposed to confess things like this to her in a shrine, while the leaves above them rustled softly and cast dappled shadows over them. He was not supposed to seem unintimidating, self-deprecating in a way that caused her to feel like she should reassure him. Her resolution of his otherness that had been so strong, so vivid, when he had called Hoshido a 'province,' was gone, and in its place was the same quiet sadness she had felt for the Nohrian soldiers whom she had healed: the recognition that they, too - even they, the cruel Nohrians whom she had been taught to despise - were human. 

The prince was equally silent, but only for a minute or two. "Yukimura has told me that most of the royal advisors and tutors fled in face of the war." 

Sakura believed those words, even if she did not know if they were true. Her tutors had been chosen because they were intelligent and influential: both traits that lent themselves to escaping from war , or perishing within it. 

"And so I read, because no one here is willing to teach me."

"I-Isn't that why - why Yukimura…" Sakura let her words trail off, unwilling to finish her sentence: isn't that why he is still alive?

The man snorted, an altogether un-regal noise, that made her eyebrows raise. "He tells me Hoshido no longer has a culture to learn, now that it's a province of an uncultured land."

"That's not true," Sakura said immediately. 

"I agree." The prince nodded. He looked at her. "I wonder, Lady Sakura, if I could ask you to teach me what you know."

* * *

"T-Teach…" the girl repeated. She was almost inaudible despite the fact that the shrine was silent outside of the murmuring leaves on the foliage around them. Her hair was half-hiding her face from him, but what he could see looked a little shocked. 

Leo waited. Patience was a virtue he did not possess in spades, but it was one he could exercise when he desired to. 

The conversation was the first time that he had heard her speak what she believed to be truth to him repeatedly, instead of dancing around whatever she had been saying and only being honest occasionally. Her face, when she had turned to him and told him he knew nothing of her country, was reminiscent of that first look it felt like he had really gotten at her: when she had turned to look at him as the doors to her room in the palace had swung shut. Her eyes, green and vibrant. There was a quiet resolution in that expression - something like the honor of a Hoshidan soldier. For, of course, she actually had been one, although this was a fact that was all-too-easily forgotten, given that she had saved his soldiers over and over and - if it was to be believed - had prayed for them as well. 

And he could almost believe it. This girl - this former princess - had a kind of quiet demureness that belied a tenacity that he thought might rival even Camilla's. For he was not entirely sure, to be honest, how his siblings would hold up in such a situation: isolated, under the thumb of a foreign power, asked to aid them more than once. 

"I…" Sakura said quietly, still not looking up, "I do - I don't k-know what I could… teach."

So. The hesitation was dual: aiding the invading power, and uncertainty about her knowledge itself. "I would ask you questions, and all you would have to do is answer them."

"That…" the girl trailed off. 

"I understand your hesitations," Leo said, his impatience slowly catching up to him, "but I believe this would aid both of us. Your people require a leader that will be able to understand what they need and meet those needs, within reason. I need to get resources to Nohr and command this country effectively. What works in Nohr may not always work here, and I assure you it would be to your people's benefit if I did not enforce Nohrian martial law here. Thus, it follows -"

"M-My… people?" 

Leo cut himself off at her words. Had he really said that? He had. Damn it all. He opened his mouth to explain what he had really meant, that this was just where she was from, when -- 

"Milady!" 

Leo almost cursed again at the voice, and the sight of ash brown hair curling in the wind that raked through the shrine. It was the samurai girl: Sakura's retainer. The girl beside him startled, turned at her retainer's voice. And there, Leo thought ruefully, went his chance to convince the former princess to listen to him or aid him in any way - gone in the appearance of a slight girl who still managed to look furious to be wearing black armor.

The retainer was purpling with anger at Leo, which would have been entirely amusing in a different situation, but was now rather annoying. "Get away from Lady Sakura!" 

Leo folded his arms as best he could while holding onto his book. "I am merely speaking to her."

"You - you are not allowed to do that!" The words were again laughable, but Leo fought against rolling his eyes. The retainer strode closer to them, and Leo raised an eyebrow, wondering if she would mount the stairs to stand between them, to glare at him menacingly from a closer proximity.

"H-Hana," Sakura said, at a volume that sounded altogether too low to quieten her retainer. To Leo's surprise, the girl's mouth shut anyways. The princess turned to him and met his eyes for a second longer than he would have expected, given her general propensity to avoid his gaze. "I - I will consider your… proposition."

Leo was surprised for the second time, but recovered quickly. "I - I urge you to do so."

The girl nodded silently, and turned to go. Her retainer stared at him furiously for the remaining seconds that Sakura was closer to him than to herself, and then immediately shepherded the princess away. It only took a few seconds for the retainer to have the girl out of sight beyond one of the trees. No one could argue the retainer wasn't efficient.

Leo, for his part, turned and looked at the shrine. The ancient structure had seen much, he imagined. Kings who had been born, lived, and died, over and over. The endless cycle of birth and death, coronation and inheritance of the crown. It had watched hundreds of Hoshidans worship its gods over the centuries, had listened as they came and rang the bell. Leo looked at the bell, the giant cord in front of him. Maybe it was some way of calling the dragon. He placed his hand on the rope, experimentally, but let it go after a second. It was not his god to worship.

Even so, there were some things he wanted to tell the Dawn Dragon - things that no Hoshidan would likely ever hear. 

Leo thought again of the girl - Sakura - praying, that image vivid in his mind. He faced the shrine head on, and thought of the Dawn Dragon, thought of what he would say. Listen to me, Ancient One: Though I am yet another ruler in the vast history of this nation, though my hair is the wrong color and my allegiances are to Nohr first and Hoshido second, I am this nation's ruler. And I will not let this province down, no more than I would let my family and country perish without food. Hear me - see me. Though I am just another part of the history of this nation, I will not be a footnote on history's ledger. I will lead this people as I will never be able to lead my own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I definitely didn't research Shinto tradition as thoroughly as I should have, and honestly it's not really even intended to be Shintoism anyways. …Can I claim creative leeway with their religion(s), please?


End file.
